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pythonpython-3.xsyntax-error

Why can't I `print __doc__` in Python 3?

I have this code:

#!/usr/local/bin/python
"""

USAGE:

    apache_logs.py 

"""

import sys
import os


if __name__ == "__main__":
    if not len(sys.argv) > 1:
        print __doc__
        sys.exit(1)
    infile_name = sys.argv[1]

I get an error that says

Tue Jul 21{stevenhirsch@steven-hirschs-macbook-pro-2}/projects/python:-->./apache_logs.py 
  File "./apache_logs.py", line 17
    print __doc__
                ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Why? The documentation I've read all seems to suggest it should work.

Solution

  • What version of Python do you have? In Python 3, print was changed to work like a function rather than a statement, i.e. print('Hello World') instead of print 'Hello World'

    I can recommend you to keep using Python 2.6 unless you're doing some brand new production development. Python 3 is still pretty new.