Change Python Built-In Depending on Version

Question

Lets say I have a program that needs to run in both Py 2 and Py 3. The only difference in the functionality is range vs xrange. Is it possible to do something like this?

if version == 3: pass
else: range = xrange

I know I saw something like this before, however I can't seem to find an example on the Google machine. Thanks guys.

Check sys.version_info tuple if you want to do it manually. Google for six, python-future or nine for 3rd party libraries designed to solve this problem. — Łukasz Rogalski
– Łukasz Rogalski, Commented Jan 2, 2017 at 13:35
I like your answer the best because of the increase in compilation time. — aseylys
– aseylys, Commented Jan 2, 2017 at 13:47

snakecharmerb · Accepted Answer · 2017-01-02 13:50:07Z

1

Yes, you can do something like:

import sys
if sys.version_info.major > 2:
    xrange = range

Another approach would be to wrap the xrange statement in a try/catch block:

>>> try:
...     r = xrange(10)
... except NameError:
... # No xrange in Python3
...     r = range(10)

edited Jan 2, 2017 at 13:50

answered Jan 2, 2017 at 13:35

snakecharmerb

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Thomas Moreau · Accepted Answer · 2017-01-02 13:54:34Z

1

You can use sys.version_info. This is a tuple holding the version number so something like this should work:

import sys
if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
    range = xrange

If you need a more precise control for the version (minor number), you can either use major/minor that give first and second number of the version, or simply sys.version_info[:2] that is a tuple that can be used in combination with ==, >=,...

edited Jan 2, 2017 at 13:54

answered Jan 2, 2017 at 13:35

Thomas Moreau

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