Differences Between Python 2.x and Python 3.x

Shashwat Agarwal
4 min readOct 9, 2024
Photo by Y.H. Zhou on Unsplash

Python is one of the most popular and widely used programming languages today. Its simplicity, flexibility, and readability have made it a top choice for developers around the world. Over the years, Python has evolved through several major versions, and the transition from Python 2.x to Python 3.x is one of the most significant changes in the language’s history.

This article outlines the key differences between Python 2.x and Python 3.x, highlights why the change was necessary, and explains the benefits of adopting Python 3.x for modern software development.

Print Statement vs. Print Function

One of the most visible differences between Python 2 and Python 3 is how the print statement is used.

Python 2.x: print is a statement, meaning no parentheses are required.

print "Hello, World!"

Python 3.x: print is now a function, and parentheses are mandatory.

print("Hello, World!")

This change was made to make print more consistent with other functions and align with Python’s design philosophy of explicitness.

Integer Division

In Python 2, dividing two integers performs floor division and results in an integer. In…

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Shashwat Agarwal

Software Developer passionate about Python, Philosophy, God, and Startups. Exploring innovative ideas and diving into Golang soon.