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<div class="section" id="simple-statements">
<span id="simple"></span><h1>7. Simple statements<a class="headerlink" href="#simple-statements" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<p id="index-0">A simple statement is comprised within a single logical line. Several simple
statements may occur on a single line separated by semicolons. The syntax for
simple statements is:</p>
<pre>
<strong id="grammar-token-simple_stmt">simple_stmt</strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-expression_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-assert_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">assert_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-assignment_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">assignment_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-augmented_assignment_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">augmented_assignment_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-pass_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">pass_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-del_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">del_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-return_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">return_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-yield_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-raise_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">raise_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-break_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">break_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-continue_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">continue_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-import_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">import_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-global_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">global_stmt</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-nonlocal_stmt"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal_stmt</span></code></a>
</pre>
<div class="section" id="expression-statements">
<span id="exprstmts"></span><h2>7.1. Expression statements<a class="headerlink" href="#expression-statements" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<span class="target" id="index-1"></span><p id="index-2">Expression statements are used (mostly interactively) to compute and write a
value, or (usually) to call a procedure (a function that returns no meaningful
result; in Python, procedures return the value <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">None</span></code>). Other uses of
expression statements are allowed and occasionally useful. The syntax for an
expression statement is:</p>
<pre>
<strong id="grammar-token-expression_stmt">expression_stmt</strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-starred_expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">starred_expression</span></code></a>
</pre>
<p>An expression statement evaluates the expression list (which may be a single
expression).</p>
<p id="index-3">In interactive mode, if the value is not <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">None</span></code>, it is converted to a string
using the built-in <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#repr" title="repr"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">repr()</span></code></a> function and the resulting string is written to
standard output on a line by itself (except if the result is <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">None</span></code>, so that
procedure calls do not cause any output.)</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="assignment-statements">
<span id="assignment"></span><h2>7.2. Assignment statements<a class="headerlink" href="#assignment-statements" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p id="index-4">Assignment statements are used to (re)bind names to values and to modify
attributes or items of mutable objects:</p>
<pre>
<strong id="grammar-token-assignment_stmt">assignment_stmt</strong> ::= (<a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target_list"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target_list</span></code></a> "=")+ (<a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-starred_expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">starred_expression</span></code></a> | <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-yield_expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield_expression</span></code></a>)
<strong id="grammar-token-target_list">target_list </strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target</span></code></a> ("," <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target</span></code></a>)* [","]
<strong id="grammar-token-target">target </strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a>
| "(" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target_list"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target_list</span></code></a> ")"
| "[" [<a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target_list"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target_list</span></code></a>] "]"
| <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-attributeref"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">attributeref</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-subscription"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">subscription</span></code></a>
| <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-slicing"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">slicing</span></code></a>
| "*" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target</span></code></a>
</pre>
<p>(See section <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#primaries"><span>Primaries</span></a> for the syntax definitions for <em>attributeref</em>,
<em>subscription</em>, and <em>slicing</em>.)</p>
<p>An assignment statement evaluates the expression list (remember that this can be
a single expression or a comma-separated list, the latter yielding a tuple) and
assigns the single resulting object to each of the target lists, from left to
right.</p>
<p id="index-5">Assignment is defined recursively depending on the form of the target (list).
When a target is part of a mutable object (an attribute reference, subscription
or slicing), the mutable object must ultimately perform the assignment and
decide about its validity, and may raise an exception if the assignment is
unacceptable. The rules observed by various types and the exceptions raised are
given with the definition of the object types (see section <a class="reference internal" href="datamodel.html#types"><span>The standard type hierarchy</span></a>).</p>
<p id="index-6">Assignment of an object to a target list, optionally enclosed in parentheses or
square brackets, is recursively defined as follows.</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li>If the target list is empty: The object must also be an empty iterable.</li>
<li>If the target list is a single target in parentheses: The object is assigned
to that target.</li>
<li>If the target list is a comma-separated list of targets, or a single target
in square brackets: The object must be an iterable with the same number of
items as there are targets in the target list, and the items are assigned,
from left to right, to the corresponding targets.<ul>
<li>If the target list contains one target prefixed with an asterisk, called a
“starred” target: The object must be an iterable with at least as many items
as there are targets in the target list, minus one. The first items of the
iterable are assigned, from left to right, to the targets before the starred
target. The final items of the iterable are assigned to the targets after
the starred target. A list of the remaining items in the iterable is then
assigned to the starred target (the list can be empty).</li>
<li>Else: The object must be an iterable with the same number of items as there
are targets in the target list, and the items are assigned, from left to
right, to the corresponding targets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Assignment of an object to a single target is recursively defined as follows.</p>
<ul>
<li><p class="first">If the target is an identifier (name):</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li>If the name does not occur in a <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> or <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a>
statement in the current code block: the name is bound to the object in the
current local namespace.</li>
<li>Otherwise: the name is bound to the object in the global namespace or the
outer namespace determined by <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a>, respectively.</li>
</ul>
<p id="index-7">The name is rebound if it was already bound. This may cause the reference
count for the object previously bound to the name to reach zero, causing the
object to be deallocated and its destructor (if it has one) to be called.</p>
</li>
<li id="index-8"><p class="first">If the target is an attribute reference: The primary expression in the
reference is evaluated. It should yield an object with assignable attributes;
if this is not the case, <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#TypeError" title="TypeError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">TypeError</span></code></a> is raised. That object is then
asked to assign the assigned object to the given attribute; if it cannot
perform the assignment, it raises an exception (usually but not necessarily
<a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#AttributeError" title="AttributeError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">AttributeError</span></code></a>).</p>
<p id="attr-target-note">Note: If the object is a class instance and the attribute reference occurs on
both sides of the assignment operator, the RHS expression, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a.x</span></code> can access
either an instance attribute or (if no instance attribute exists) a class
attribute. The LHS target <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a.x</span></code> is always set as an instance attribute,
creating it if necessary. Thus, the two occurrences of <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a.x</span></code> do not
necessarily refer to the same attribute: if the RHS expression refers to a
class attribute, the LHS creates a new instance attribute as the target of the
assignment:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">class</span> <span class="nc">Cls</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="n">x</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mi">3</span> <span class="c1"># class variable</span>
<span class="n">inst</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">Cls</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="n">inst</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">x</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">inst</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">x</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="mi">1</span> <span class="c1"># writes inst.x as 4 leaving Cls.x as 3</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>This description does not necessarily apply to descriptor attributes, such as
properties created with <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#property" title="property"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">property()</span></code></a>.</p>
</li>
<li id="index-9"><p class="first">If the target is a subscription: The primary expression in the reference is
evaluated. It should yield either a mutable sequence object (such as a list)
or a mapping object (such as a dictionary). Next, the subscript expression is
evaluated.</p>
<p id="index-10">If the primary is a mutable sequence object (such as a list), the subscript
must yield an integer. If it is negative, the sequence’s length is added to
it. The resulting value must be a nonnegative integer less than the
sequence’s length, and the sequence is asked to assign the assigned object to
its item with that index. If the index is out of range, <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#IndexError" title="IndexError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">IndexError</span></code></a> is
raised (assignment to a subscripted sequence cannot add new items to a list).</p>
<p id="index-11">If the primary is a mapping object (such as a dictionary), the subscript must
have a type compatible with the mapping’s key type, and the mapping is then
asked to create a key/datum pair which maps the subscript to the assigned
object. This can either replace an existing key/value pair with the same key
value, or insert a new key/value pair (if no key with the same value existed).</p>
<p>For user-defined objects, the <a class="reference internal" href="datamodel.html#object.__setitem__" title="object.__setitem__"><code class="xref py py-meth docutils literal"><span class="pre">__setitem__()</span></code></a> method is called with
appropriate arguments.</p>
</li>
<li id="index-12"><p class="first">If the target is a slicing: The primary expression in the reference is
evaluated. It should yield a mutable sequence object (such as a list). The
assigned object should be a sequence object of the same type. Next, the lower
and upper bound expressions are evaluated, insofar they are present; defaults
are zero and the sequence’s length. The bounds should evaluate to integers.
If either bound is negative, the sequence’s length is added to it. The
resulting bounds are clipped to lie between zero and the sequence’s length,
inclusive. Finally, the sequence object is asked to replace the slice with
the items of the assigned sequence. The length of the slice may be different
from the length of the assigned sequence, thus changing the length of the
target sequence, if the target sequence allows it.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="impl-detail compound">
<p><strong>CPython implementation detail:</strong> In the current implementation, the syntax for targets is taken to be the same
as for expressions, and invalid syntax is rejected during the code generation
phase, causing less detailed error messages.</p>
</div>
<p>Although the definition of assignment implies that overlaps between the
left-hand side and the right-hand side are ‘simultaneous’ (for example <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a,</span> <span class="pre">b</span> <span class="pre">=</span>
<span class="pre">b,</span> <span class="pre">a</span></code> swaps two variables), overlaps <em>within</em> the collection of assigned-to
variables occur left-to-right, sometimes resulting in confusion. For instance,
the following program prints <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">[0,</span> <span class="pre">2]</span></code>:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">x</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">]</span>
<span class="n">i</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mi">0</span>
<span class="n">i</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">x</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mi">2</span> <span class="c1"># i is updated, then x[i] is updated</span>
<span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">x</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition seealso">
<p class="first admonition-title">See also</p>
<dl class="last docutils">
<dt><span class="target" id="index-13"></span><a class="pep reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3132"><strong>PEP 3132</strong></a> - Extended Iterable Unpacking</dt>
<dd>The specification for the <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">*target</span></code> feature.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="section" id="augmented-assignment-statements">
<span id="augassign"></span><h3>7.2.1. Augmented assignment statements<a class="headerlink" href="#augmented-assignment-statements" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<p id="index-14">Augmented assignment is the combination, in a single statement, of a binary
operation and an assignment statement:</p>
<pre>
<strong id="grammar-token-augmented_assignment_stmt">augmented_assignment_stmt</strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-augtarget"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">augtarget</span></code></a> <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-augop"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">augop</span></code></a> (<a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression_list"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression_list</span></code></a> | <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-yield_expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield_expression</span></code></a>)
<strong id="grammar-token-augtarget">augtarget </strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> | <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-attributeref"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">attributeref</span></code></a> | <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-subscription"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">subscription</span></code></a> | <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-slicing"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">slicing</span></code></a>
<strong id="grammar-token-augop">augop </strong> ::= "+=" | "-=" | "*=" | "@=" | "/=" | "//=" | "%=" | "**="
| ">>=" | "<<=" | "&=" | "^=" | "|="
</pre>
<p>(See section <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#primaries"><span>Primaries</span></a> for the syntax definitions of the last three
symbols.)</p>
<p>An augmented assignment evaluates the target (which, unlike normal assignment
statements, cannot be an unpacking) and the expression list, performs the binary
operation specific to the type of assignment on the two operands, and assigns
the result to the original target. The target is only evaluated once.</p>
<p>An augmented assignment expression like <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">x</span> <span class="pre">+=</span> <span class="pre">1</span></code> can be rewritten as <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">x</span> <span class="pre">=</span> <span class="pre">x</span> <span class="pre">+</span>
<span class="pre">1</span></code> to achieve a similar, but not exactly equal effect. In the augmented
version, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">x</span></code> is only evaluated once. Also, when possible, the actual operation
is performed <em>in-place</em>, meaning that rather than creating a new object and
assigning that to the target, the old object is modified instead.</p>
<p>Unlike normal assignments, augmented assignments evaluate the left-hand side
<em>before</em> evaluating the right-hand side. For example, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a[i]</span> <span class="pre">+=</span> <span class="pre">f(x)</span></code> first
looks-up <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a[i]</span></code>, then it evaluates <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">f(x)</span></code> and performs the addition, and
lastly, it writes the result back to <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">a[i]</span></code>.</p>
<p>With the exception of assigning to tuples and multiple targets in a single
statement, the assignment done by augmented assignment statements is handled the
same way as normal assignments. Similarly, with the exception of the possible
<em>in-place</em> behavior, the binary operation performed by augmented assignment is
the same as the normal binary operations.</p>
<p>For targets which are attribute references, the same <a class="reference internal" href="#attr-target-note"><span>caveat about class
and instance attributes</span></a> applies as for regular assignments.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-assert-statement">
<span id="assert"></span><h2>7.3. The <a class="reference internal" href="#assert"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">assert</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-assert-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p id="index-15">Assert statements are a convenient way to insert debugging assertions into a
program:</p>
<pre>
<strong id="grammar-token-assert_stmt">assert_stmt</strong> ::= "assert" <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression</span></code></a> ["," <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression</span></code></a>]
</pre>
<p>The simple form, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">assert</span> <span class="pre">expression</span></code>, is equivalent to</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">__debug__</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="ow">not</span> <span class="n">expression</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="k">raise</span> <span class="ne">AssertionError</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The extended form, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">assert</span> <span class="pre">expression1,</span> <span class="pre">expression2</span></code>, is equivalent to</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">__debug__</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="ow">not</span> <span class="n">expression1</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="k">raise</span> <span class="ne">AssertionError</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">expression2</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p id="index-16">These equivalences assume that <a class="reference internal" href="../library/constants.html#__debug__" title="__debug__"><code class="xref py py-const docutils literal"><span class="pre">__debug__</span></code></a> and <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#AssertionError" title="AssertionError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">AssertionError</span></code></a> refer to
the built-in variables with those names. In the current implementation, the
built-in variable <a class="reference internal" href="../library/constants.html#__debug__" title="__debug__"><code class="xref py py-const docutils literal"><span class="pre">__debug__</span></code></a> is <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">True</span></code> under normal circumstances,
<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">False</span></code> when optimization is requested (command line option -O). The current
code generator emits no code for an assert statement when optimization is
requested at compile time. Note that it is unnecessary to include the source
code for the expression that failed in the error message; it will be displayed
as part of the stack trace.</p>
<p>Assignments to <a class="reference internal" href="../library/constants.html#__debug__" title="__debug__"><code class="xref py py-const docutils literal"><span class="pre">__debug__</span></code></a> are illegal. The value for the built-in variable
is determined when the interpreter starts.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-pass-statement">
<span id="pass"></span><h2>7.4. The <a class="reference internal" href="#pass"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">pass</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-pass-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-17">
<strong id="grammar-token-pass_stmt">pass_stmt</strong> ::= "pass"
</pre>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="#pass"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">pass</span></code></a> is a null operation — when it is executed, nothing happens.
It is useful as a placeholder when a statement is required syntactically, but no
code needs to be executed, for example:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">def</span> <span class="nf">f</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">arg</span><span class="p">):</span> <span class="k">pass</span> <span class="c1"># a function that does nothing (yet)</span>
<span class="k">class</span> <span class="nc">C</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="k">pass</span> <span class="c1"># a class with no methods (yet)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-del-statement">
<span id="del"></span><h2>7.5. The <a class="reference internal" href="#del"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">del</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-del-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-18">
<strong id="grammar-token-del_stmt">del_stmt</strong> ::= "del" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-target_list"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">target_list</span></code></a>
</pre>
<p>Deletion is recursively defined very similar to the way assignment is defined.
Rather than spelling it out in full details, here are some hints.</p>
<p>Deletion of a target list recursively deletes each target, from left to right.</p>
<p id="index-19">Deletion of a name removes the binding of that name from the local or global
namespace, depending on whether the name occurs in a <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement
in the same code block. If the name is unbound, a <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#NameError" title="NameError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">NameError</span></code></a> exception
will be raised.</p>
<p id="index-20">Deletion of attribute references, subscriptions and slicings is passed to the
primary object involved; deletion of a slicing is in general equivalent to
assignment of an empty slice of the right type (but even this is determined by
the sliced object).</p>
<div class="versionchanged">
<p><span class="versionmodified">Changed in version 3.2: </span>Previously it was illegal to delete a name from the local namespace if it
occurs as a free variable in a nested block.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-return-statement">
<span id="return"></span><h2>7.6. The <a class="reference internal" href="#return"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">return</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-return-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-21">
<strong id="grammar-token-return_stmt">return_stmt</strong> ::= "return" [<a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression_list"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression_list</span></code></a>]
</pre>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="#return"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">return</span></code></a> may only occur syntactically nested in a function definition,
not within a nested class definition.</p>
<p>If an expression list is present, it is evaluated, else <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">None</span></code> is substituted.</p>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="#return"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">return</span></code></a> leaves the current function call with the expression list (or
<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">None</span></code>) as return value.</p>
<p id="index-22">When <a class="reference internal" href="#return"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">return</span></code></a> passes control out of a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#try"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">try</span></code></a> statement with a
<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause, that <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause is executed before
really leaving the function.</p>
<p>In a generator function, the <a class="reference internal" href="#return"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">return</span></code></a> statement indicates that the
generator is done and will cause <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#StopIteration" title="StopIteration"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">StopIteration</span></code></a> to be raised. The returned
value (if any) is used as an argument to construct <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#StopIteration" title="StopIteration"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">StopIteration</span></code></a> and
becomes the <code class="xref py py-attr docutils literal"><span class="pre">StopIteration.value</span></code> attribute.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-yield-statement">
<span id="yield"></span><h2>7.7. The <a class="reference internal" href="#yield"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-yield-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-23">
<strong id="grammar-token-yield_stmt">yield_stmt</strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-yield_expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield_expression</span></code></a>
</pre>
<p>A <a class="reference internal" href="#yield"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield</span></code></a> statement is semantically equivalent to a <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#yieldexpr"><span>yield
expression</span></a>. The yield statement can be used to omit the parentheses
that would otherwise be required in the equivalent yield expression
statement. For example, the yield statements</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">yield</span> <span class="o"><</span><span class="n">expr</span><span class="o">></span>
<span class="k">yield from</span> <span class="o"><</span><span class="n">expr</span><span class="o">></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>are equivalent to the yield expression statements</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="p">(</span><span class="k">yield</span> <span class="o"><</span><span class="n">expr</span><span class="o">></span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="p">(</span><span class="k">yield from</span> <span class="o"><</span><span class="n">expr</span><span class="o">></span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Yield expressions and statements are only used when defining a <a class="reference internal" href="../glossary.html#term-generator"><span class="xref std std-term">generator</span></a>
function, and are only used in the body of the generator function. Using yield
in a function definition is sufficient to cause that definition to create a
generator function instead of a normal function.</p>
<p>For full details of <a class="reference internal" href="#yield"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield</span></code></a> semantics, refer to the
<a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#yieldexpr"><span>Yield expressions</span></a> section.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-raise-statement">
<span id="raise"></span><h2>7.8. The <a class="reference internal" href="#raise"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">raise</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-raise-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-24">
<strong id="grammar-token-raise_stmt">raise_stmt</strong> ::= "raise" [<a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression</span></code></a> ["from" <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression</span></code></a>]]
</pre>
<p>If no expressions are present, <a class="reference internal" href="#raise"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">raise</span></code></a> re-raises the last exception
that was active in the current scope. If no exception is active in the current
scope, a <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#RuntimeError" title="RuntimeError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">RuntimeError</span></code></a> exception is raised indicating that this is an
error.</p>
<p>Otherwise, <a class="reference internal" href="#raise"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">raise</span></code></a> evaluates the first expression as the exception
object. It must be either a subclass or an instance of <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#BaseException" title="BaseException"><code class="xref py py-class docutils literal"><span class="pre">BaseException</span></code></a>.
If it is a class, the exception instance will be obtained when needed by
instantiating the class with no arguments.</p>
<p>The <em class="dfn">type</em> of the exception is the exception instance’s class, the
<em class="dfn">value</em> is the instance itself.</p>
<p id="index-25">A traceback object is normally created automatically when an exception is raised
and attached to it as the <code class="xref py py-attr docutils literal"><span class="pre">__traceback__</span></code> attribute, which is writable.
You can create an exception and set your own traceback in one step using the
<code class="xref py py-meth docutils literal"><span class="pre">with_traceback()</span></code> exception method (which returns the same exception
instance, with its traceback set to its argument), like so:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">raise</span> <span class="ne">Exception</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s2">"foo occurred"</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">with_traceback</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">tracebackobj</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p id="index-26">The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span></code> clause is used for exception chaining: if given, the second
<em>expression</em> must be another exception class or instance, which will then be
attached to the raised exception as the <code class="xref py py-attr docutils literal"><span class="pre">__cause__</span></code> attribute (which is
writable). If the raised exception is not handled, both exceptions will be
printed:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="k">try</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="gp">... </span> <span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">1</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="gp">... </span><span class="k">except</span> <span class="ne">Exception</span> <span class="k">as</span> <span class="n">exc</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="gp">... </span> <span class="k">raise</span> <span class="ne">RuntimeError</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s2">"Something bad happened"</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">exc</span>
<span class="gp">...</span>
<span class="gt">Traceback (most recent call last):</span>
File <span class="nb">"<stdin>"</span>, line <span class="m">2</span>, in <span class="n"><module></span>
<span class="gr">ZeroDivisionError</span>: <span class="n">int division or modulo by zero</span>
<span class="go">The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:</span>
<span class="gt">Traceback (most recent call last):</span>
File <span class="nb">"<stdin>"</span>, line <span class="m">4</span>, in <span class="n"><module></span>
<span class="gr">RuntimeError</span>: <span class="n">Something bad happened</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>A similar mechanism works implicitly if an exception is raised inside an
exception handler or a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause: the previous exception is then
attached as the new exception’s <code class="xref py py-attr docutils literal"><span class="pre">__context__</span></code> attribute:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="k">try</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="gp">... </span> <span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">1</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="gp">... </span><span class="k">except</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="gp">... </span> <span class="k">raise</span> <span class="ne">RuntimeError</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s2">"Something bad happened"</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="gp">...</span>
<span class="gt">Traceback (most recent call last):</span>
File <span class="nb">"<stdin>"</span>, line <span class="m">2</span>, in <span class="n"><module></span>
<span class="gr">ZeroDivisionError</span>: <span class="n">int division or modulo by zero</span>
<span class="go">During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:</span>
<span class="gt">Traceback (most recent call last):</span>
File <span class="nb">"<stdin>"</span>, line <span class="m">4</span>, in <span class="n"><module></span>
<span class="gr">RuntimeError</span>: <span class="n">Something bad happened</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Additional information on exceptions can be found in section <a class="reference internal" href="executionmodel.html#exceptions"><span>Exceptions</span></a>,
and information about handling exceptions is in section <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#try"><span>The try statement</span></a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-break-statement">
<span id="break"></span><h2>7.9. The <a class="reference internal" href="#break"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">break</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-break-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-27">
<strong id="grammar-token-break_stmt">break_stmt</strong> ::= "break"
</pre>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="#break"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">break</span></code></a> may only occur syntactically nested in a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#for"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">for</span></code></a> or
<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#while"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">while</span></code></a> loop, but not nested in a function or class definition within
that loop.</p>
<p id="index-28">It terminates the nearest enclosing loop, skipping the optional <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#else"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">else</span></code></a>
clause if the loop has one.</p>
<p>If a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#for"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">for</span></code></a> loop is terminated by <a class="reference internal" href="#break"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">break</span></code></a>, the loop control
target keeps its current value.</p>
<p id="index-29">When <a class="reference internal" href="#break"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">break</span></code></a> passes control out of a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#try"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">try</span></code></a> statement with a
<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause, that <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause is executed before
really leaving the loop.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-continue-statement">
<span id="continue"></span><h2>7.10. The <a class="reference internal" href="#continue"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">continue</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-continue-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-30">
<strong id="grammar-token-continue_stmt">continue_stmt</strong> ::= "continue"
</pre>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="#continue"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">continue</span></code></a> may only occur syntactically nested in a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#for"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">for</span></code></a> or
<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#while"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">while</span></code></a> loop, but not nested in a function or class definition or
<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause within that loop. It continues with the next
cycle of the nearest enclosing loop.</p>
<p>When <a class="reference internal" href="#continue"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">continue</span></code></a> passes control out of a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#try"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">try</span></code></a> statement with a
<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause, that <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#finally"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">finally</span></code></a> clause is executed before
really starting the next loop cycle.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-import-statement">
<span id="from"></span><span id="import"></span><h2>7.11. The <a class="reference internal" href="#import"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">import</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-import-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-31">
<strong id="grammar-token-import_stmt">import_stmt </strong> ::= "import" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-module"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">module</span></code></a> ["as" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-name"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">name</span></code></a>] ( "," <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-module"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">module</span></code></a> ["as" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-name"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">name</span></code></a>] )*
| "from" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-relative_module"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">relative_module</span></code></a> "import" <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ["as" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-name"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">name</span></code></a>]
( "," <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ["as" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-name"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">name</span></code></a>] )*
| "from" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-relative_module"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">relative_module</span></code></a> "import" "(" <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ["as" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-name"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">name</span></code></a>]
( "," <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ["as" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-name"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">name</span></code></a>] )* [","] ")"
| "from" <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-module"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">module</span></code></a> "import" "*"
<strong id="grammar-token-module">module </strong> ::= (<a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ".")* <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a>
<strong id="grammar-token-relative_module">relative_module</strong> ::= "."* <a class="reference internal" href="#grammar-token-module"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">module</span></code></a> | "."+
<strong id="grammar-token-name">name </strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a>
</pre>
<p>The basic import statement (no <a class="reference internal" href="#from"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span></code></a> clause) is executed in two
steps:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li>find a module, loading and initializing it if necessary</li>
<li>define a name or names in the local namespace for the scope where
the <a class="reference internal" href="#import"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">import</span></code></a> statement occurs.</li>
</ol>
<p>When the statement contains multiple clauses (separated by
commas) the two steps are carried out separately for each clause, just
as though the clauses had been separated out into individual import
statements.</p>
<p>The details of the first step, finding and loading modules are described in
greater detail in the section on the <a class="reference internal" href="import.html#importsystem"><span>import system</span></a>,
which also describes the various types of packages and modules that can
be imported, as well as all the hooks that can be used to customize
the import system. Note that failures in this step may indicate either
that the module could not be located, <em>or</em> that an error occurred while
initializing the module, which includes execution of the module’s code.</p>
<p>If the requested module is retrieved successfully, it will be made
available in the local namespace in one of three ways:</p>
<ul class="simple" id="index-32">
<li>If the module name is followed by <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#as"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">as</span></code></a>, then the name
following <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#as"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">as</span></code></a> is bound directly to the imported module.</li>
<li>If no other name is specified, and the module being imported is a top
level module, the module’s name is bound in the local namespace as a
reference to the imported module</li>
<li>If the module being imported is <em>not</em> a top level module, then the name
of the top level package that contains the module is bound in the local
namespace as a reference to the top level package. The imported module
must be accessed using its full qualified name rather than directly</li>
</ul>
<p id="index-33">The <a class="reference internal" href="#from"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span></code></a> form uses a slightly more complex process:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li>find the module specified in the <a class="reference internal" href="#from"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span></code></a> clause, loading and
initializing it if necessary;</li>
<li>for each of the identifiers specified in the <a class="reference internal" href="#import"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">import</span></code></a> clauses:<ol class="arabic">
<li>check if the imported module has an attribute by that name</li>
<li>if not, attempt to import a submodule with that name and then
check the imported module again for that attribute</li>
<li>if the attribute is not found, <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#ImportError" title="ImportError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">ImportError</span></code></a> is raised.</li>
<li>otherwise, a reference to that value is stored in the local namespace,
using the name in the <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#as"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">as</span></code></a> clause if it is present,
otherwise using the attribute name</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Examples:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">foo</span> <span class="c1"># foo imported and bound locally</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">foo.bar.baz</span> <span class="c1"># foo.bar.baz imported, foo bound locally</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">foo.bar.baz</span> <span class="k">as</span> <span class="nn">fbb</span> <span class="c1"># foo.bar.baz imported and bound as fbb</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">foo.bar</span> <span class="k">import</span> <span class="n">baz</span> <span class="c1"># foo.bar.baz imported and bound as baz</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">foo</span> <span class="k">import</span> <span class="n">attr</span> <span class="c1"># foo imported and foo.attr bound as attr</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If the list of identifiers is replaced by a star (<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">'*'</span></code>), all public
names defined in the module are bound in the local namespace for the scope
where the <a class="reference internal" href="#import"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">import</span></code></a> statement occurs.</p>
<p id="index-34">The <em>public names</em> defined by a module are determined by checking the module’s
namespace for a variable named <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">__all__</span></code>; if defined, it must be a sequence
of strings which are names defined or imported by that module. The names
given in <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">__all__</span></code> are all considered public and are required to exist. If
<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">__all__</span></code> is not defined, the set of public names includes all names found
in the module’s namespace which do not begin with an underscore character
(<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">'_'</span></code>). <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">__all__</span></code> should contain the entire public API. It is intended
to avoid accidentally exporting items that are not part of the API (such as
library modules which were imported and used within the module).</p>
<p>The wild card form of import — <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span> <span class="pre">module</span> <span class="pre">import</span> <span class="pre">*</span></code> — is only allowed at
the module level. Attempting to use it in class or function definitions will
raise a <a class="reference internal" href="../library/exceptions.html#SyntaxError" title="SyntaxError"><code class="xref py py-exc docutils literal"><span class="pre">SyntaxError</span></code></a>.</p>
<p id="index-35">When specifying what module to import you do not have to specify the absolute
name of the module. When a module or package is contained within another
package it is possible to make a relative import within the same top package
without having to mention the package name. By using leading dots in the
specified module or package after <a class="reference internal" href="#from"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span></code></a> you can specify how high to
traverse up the current package hierarchy without specifying exact names. One
leading dot means the current package where the module making the import
exists. Two dots means up one package level. Three dots is up two levels, etc.
So if you execute <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span> <span class="pre">.</span> <span class="pre">import</span> <span class="pre">mod</span></code> from a module in the <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">pkg</span></code> package
then you will end up importing <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">pkg.mod</span></code>. If you execute <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">from</span> <span class="pre">..subpkg2</span>
<span class="pre">import</span> <span class="pre">mod</span></code> from within <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">pkg.subpkg1</span></code> you will import <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">pkg.subpkg2.mod</span></code>.
The specification for relative imports is contained within <span class="target" id="index-36"></span><a class="pep reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0328"><strong>PEP 328</strong></a>.</p>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="../library/importlib.html#importlib.import_module" title="importlib.import_module"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">importlib.import_module()</span></code></a> is provided to support applications that
determine dynamically the modules to be loaded.</p>
<div class="section" id="future-statements">
<span id="future"></span><h3>7.11.1. Future statements<a class="headerlink" href="#future-statements" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
<p id="index-37">A <em class="dfn">future statement</em> is a directive to the compiler that a particular
module should be compiled using syntax or semantics that will be available in a
specified future release of Python where the feature becomes standard.</p>
<p>The future statement is intended to ease migration to future versions of Python
that introduce incompatible changes to the language. It allows use of the new
features on a per-module basis before the release in which the feature becomes
standard.</p>
<pre>
<strong id="grammar-token-future_statement">future_statement</strong> ::= "from" "__future__" "import" feature ["as" name]
("," feature ["as" name])*
| "from" "__future__" "import" "(" feature ["as" name]
("," feature ["as" name])* [","] ")"
<strong id="grammar-token-feature">feature </strong> ::= identifier
<strong id="id1">name </strong> ::= identifier
</pre>
<p>A future statement must appear near the top of the module. The only lines that
can appear before a future statement are:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li>the module docstring (if any),</li>
<li>comments,</li>
<li>blank lines, and</li>
<li>other future statements.</li>
</ul>
<p>The features recognized by Python 3.0 are <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">absolute_import</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">division</span></code>,
<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">generators</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">unicode_literals</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">print_function</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">nested_scopes</span></code> and
<code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">with_statement</span></code>. They are all redundant because they are always enabled, and
only kept for backwards compatibility.</p>
<p>A future statement is recognized and treated specially at compile time: Changes
to the semantics of core constructs are often implemented by generating
different code. It may even be the case that a new feature introduces new
incompatible syntax (such as a new reserved word), in which case the compiler
may need to parse the module differently. Such decisions cannot be pushed off
until runtime.</p>
<p>For any given release, the compiler knows which feature names have been defined,
and raises a compile-time error if a future statement contains a feature not
known to it.</p>
<p>The direct runtime semantics are the same as for any import statement: there is
a standard module <a class="reference internal" href="../library/__future__.html#module-__future__" title="__future__: Future statement definitions"><code class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">__future__</span></code></a>, described later, and it will be imported in
the usual way at the time the future statement is executed.</p>
<p>The interesting runtime semantics depend on the specific feature enabled by the
future statement.</p>
<p>Note that there is nothing special about the statement:</p>
<div class="highlight-python3"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">__future__</span> <span class="p">[</span><span class="k">as</span> <span class="n">name</span><span class="p">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>That is not a future statement; it’s an ordinary import statement with no
special semantics or syntax restrictions.</p>
<p>Code compiled by calls to the built-in functions <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#exec" title="exec"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">exec()</span></code></a> and <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#compile" title="compile"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">compile()</span></code></a>
that occur in a module <code class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">M</span></code> containing a future statement will, by default,
use the new syntax or semantics associated with the future statement. This can
be controlled by optional arguments to <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#compile" title="compile"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">compile()</span></code></a> — see the documentation
of that function for details.</p>
<p>A future statement typed at an interactive interpreter prompt will take effect
for the rest of the interpreter session. If an interpreter is started with the
<a class="reference internal" href="../using/cmdline.html#cmdoption-i"><code class="xref std std-option docutils literal"><span class="pre">-i</span></code></a> option, is passed a script name to execute, and the script includes
a future statement, it will be in effect in the interactive session started
after the script is executed.</p>
<div class="admonition seealso">
<p class="first admonition-title">See also</p>
<dl class="last docutils">
<dt><span class="target" id="index-38"></span><a class="pep reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0236"><strong>PEP 236</strong></a> - Back to the __future__</dt>
<dd>The original proposal for the __future__ mechanism.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-global-statement">
<span id="global"></span><h2>7.12. The <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-global-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-39">
<strong id="grammar-token-global_stmt">global_stmt</strong> ::= "global" <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ("," <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a>)*
</pre>
<p>The <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement is a declaration which holds for the entire
current code block. It means that the listed identifiers are to be interpreted
as globals. It would be impossible to assign to a global variable without
<a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a>, although free variables may refer to globals without being
declared global.</p>
<p>Names listed in a <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement must not be used in the same code
block textually preceding that <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement.</p>
<p>Names listed in a <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement must not be defined as formal
parameters or in a <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#for"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">for</span></code></a> loop control target, <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#class"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">class</span></code></a>
definition, function definition, or <a class="reference internal" href="#import"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">import</span></code></a> statement.</p>
<div class="impl-detail compound">
<p><strong>CPython implementation detail:</strong> The current implementation does not enforce the two restrictions, but
programs should not abuse this freedom, as future implementations may enforce
them or silently change the meaning of the program.</p>
</div>
<p id="index-40"><strong>Programmer’s note:</strong> the <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> is a directive to the parser. It
applies only to code parsed at the same time as the <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement.
In particular, a <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement contained in a string or code
object supplied to the built-in <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#exec" title="exec"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">exec()</span></code></a> function does not affect the code
block <em>containing</em> the function call, and code contained in such a string is
unaffected by <a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statements in the code containing the function
call. The same applies to the <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#eval" title="eval"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">eval()</span></code></a> and <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#compile" title="compile"><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">compile()</span></code></a> functions.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="the-nonlocal-statement">
<span id="nonlocal"></span><h2>7.13. The <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-nonlocal-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<pre id="index-41">
<strong id="grammar-token-nonlocal_stmt">nonlocal_stmt</strong> ::= "nonlocal" <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a> ("," <a class="reference internal" href="lexical_analysis.html#grammar-token-identifier"><code class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">identifier</span></code></a>)*
</pre>
<p>The <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a> statement causes the listed identifiers to refer to
previously bound variables in the nearest enclosing scope excluding globals.
This is important because the default behavior for binding is to search the
local namespace first. The statement allows encapsulated code to rebind
variables outside of the local scope besides the global (module) scope.</p>
<p>Names listed in a <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a> statement, unlike those listed in a
<a class="reference internal" href="#global"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code></a> statement, must refer to pre-existing bindings in an
enclosing scope (the scope in which a new binding should be created cannot
be determined unambiguously).</p>
<p>Names listed in a <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a> statement must not collide with
pre-existing bindings in the local scope.</p>
<div class="admonition seealso">
<p class="first admonition-title">See also</p>
<dl class="last docutils">
<dt><span class="target" id="index-42"></span><a class="pep reference external" href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3104"><strong>PEP 3104</strong></a> - Access to Names in Outer Scopes</dt>
<dd>The specification for the <a class="reference internal" href="#nonlocal"><code class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code></a> statement.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="sphinxsidebarwrapper">
<h3><a href="../contents.html">Table Of Contents</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">7. Simple statements</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#expression-statements">7.1. Expression statements</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#assignment-statements">7.2. Assignment statements</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#augmented-assignment-statements">7.2.1. Augmented assignment statements</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-assert-statement">7.3. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">assert</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-pass-statement">7.4. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">pass</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-del-statement">7.5. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">del</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-return-statement">7.6. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">return</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-yield-statement">7.7. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">yield</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-raise-statement">7.8. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">raise</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-break-statement">7.9. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">break</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-continue-statement">7.10. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">continue</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-import-statement">7.11. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">import</span></code> statement</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#future-statements">7.11.1. Future statements</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-global-statement">7.12. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">global</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-nonlocal-statement">7.13. The <code class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">nonlocal</span></code> statement</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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