What it’s essential to find out about Python’s ‘lifeless batteries’

Python’s been round in a single type or one other for over 30 years. Over that point, it has amassed a large and highly effective set of modules in its customary library. These modules assist builders get began with many widespread duties. Followers of Python name this the “batteries included” a part of the language.

However through the years, a few of these batteries have died—that means they’ve gone out of upkeep, or been used for applied sciences that are actually out of date. A few of these “lifeless batteries” have been deprecated in Python 3.12, and might be eliminated totally in Python 3.13.

PEP 594 describes these deprecations intimately, however it may be laborious to know at a look which of them matter most.

So, this is a rundown—in roughly descending order of significance—of the usual library modules being eliminated in Python 3.13, together with what every one does and what new module (if any) has changed it.

Deprecated Python modules you should still be utilizing

Listed below are an important deprecated customary library modules. These are those you’re almost definitely nonetheless utilizing in current functions. 

cgi, cgitb

The CGI customary for net functions has lengthy been out of date, however assist for it has lingered in Python for 2 causes: the numerous net utility frameworks that also assist CGI, and the elements inside cgi and cgitb which can be nonetheless used elsewhere.

Listed below are the cgi options or elements that you could be be utilizing, even if you happen to do not realize it, and what you are able to do to interchange them, as per PEP 594:

Moreover, if you happen to’re utilizing POST and PUT requests on doubtlessly massive payloads, you would possibly want to interchange cgi.FieldStorage with a third-party module like multipart. For smaller payloads, the attachment-parsing parts in e-mail.message could suffice.

For GET and HEAD requests, you should use urllib.parse.parse_qsl.

smtpd, telnetlib, nntplib

These modules are for working with mail, information, and community connection protocols. In all circumstances, they’re now outdated by different modules:

• smtpd, for work with the SMTP mail protocol, could be changed with aiosmtpd, which has the extra benefit of being async pleasant.
• nntp, for working with the USENET information protocol, could be changed with pynntp.
• telnetlib, for working with the Telnet connectivity protocol, could be changed with telnetlib3, which has the benefits of being a higher-level consumer and appropriate with asyncio.

msilib

msilib is offered solely on Microsoft Home windows and is for creating Microsoft Installer (MSI) packages. distutils, which can also be now deprecated, used this module to create MSI installers. Python’s core builders have cited the burden of sustaining msilib (with comparatively few real-world customers) as a giant motive for eradicating it.

pipes

pipes repackages a few of the performance of os.popen to redirect enter from one command into one other command’s output. subprocess in the usual library is the best way to deal with such issues now.

Extra deprecated Python modules

These modules are far much less more likely to be in use in any packages you are writing or sustaining, but it surely’s value understanding they’ve been deprecated.

• asynchat/asyncore: For async community operations. Changed by asyncio since Python 3.6.
• imghdr/sndhdr: Used to make educated guesses concerning the contents of picture or sound information based mostly on their headers. Outmoded by third-party libraries like Pillow (for photos) or python-magic (for all types of information).
• uu: For encoding and decoding information utilizing the uuencode protocol; out of date for the reason that creation of the MIME format. When you nonetheless want the uu codec for no matter motive, the binascii module within the stdlib helps it.
• mailcap: Used for studying mail capability information, as a method to work with e-mail attachments. Packages not often want to do that by themselves anymore.
• crypt: For working with Unix-style libcrypt capabilities, which have lengthy been thought of out of date and insecure.
• nis: For working with the out of date Community Info Service protocol, changed by LDAP and different such protocols.
• spwd: For entry to the Unix shadow password database. That is thought of a safety hazard and its use is now not inspired.
• xdrlib: For working with the Solar Exterior Knowledge Illustration Normal, a binary serialization format that’s now not used.
• chunk: For studying and writing the Interchange File Format, used on older private computer systems just like the Commodore and Amiga.
• sunau: For working with the out of date Solar AU audio format.
• ossaudiodev: Help for the little-used Open Sound System audio interface customary.