What to Expect in the Upcoming Python 3.11 Release | TechBuzz

Python continues to amaze its users with its inherent versatility and functionality. In Python 3.11, the programming language continues to improve functionality, exception handling, and usage.

If you are eager to get a glimpse of its Alpha version (the current version is 3.11.0a7), you can download and start testing some new features before the main release in October 2022.

1. Faster Processing Speed

Programming languages draw their functionality based on their execution capabilities. In short, the more complex the code blocks, the longer a language takes to return the output.

Even though Python’s earlier versions didn’t suffer majorly with such time lags, Python 3.11 promises to be up to 60% faster than its predecessors.

2. Enhanced Error Messages

Python 3.10 lacked the capabilities to pinpoint the exact location of the error. For example, if you want to print the concatenated result of a string and an integer, here’s what you would see in Python 3.10.

Here’s a code snippet run on both Python versions:

print("Hello World" + 1)

Python 3.10 returns the following error:

File "<string>", line 3, in <module>
TypeError: can only concatenate str (not "int") to str

Python 3.11 shows the exact location where the error occurs, thereby allowing you to debug efficiently.

   print("Hello" + 1)
~~~~~~~~^~~
TypeError: can only concatenate str (not "int") to str

Since Python can only concatenate a string with another string, you will need to convert the integer into a string with the str function, before concatenating it with the first string value.

3. Introduction of the tomllib Library

Tom’s Obvious Minimal Language, commonly known as TOML, is regarded as a minimal configuration file format, which promises to be an easy read.

TOML is parsed into data structures using a wide variety of languages. The language draws similarities from other file formats, including the likes of YAML and JSON.

YAML emphasizes the human readability of code lines (such as comments), while JSON tends to make your codes error-free and straightforward.

TOML, as a language, offers the best of both languages, as it allows simplicity and comments within your code blocks.

Here’s how you can import the TOML library in Python:

Import tomllibWith open(“specify toml file path here”) as t:
tom_file = tomllib.load(t)

print(tomllib.loads(t.read()))

If you try to import the tomllib library in Python 3.10, you will get an error message saying, No module named tomllib.

4. Use of Except* Keyword for Enabling Exception Handling

Errors and exceptions go together, especially when working on any programming language. Python is no exception to this rule. A code’s execution can falter due to a wrong syntax, missing characters, or user-created errors.

Nonetheless, the idea is to debug your code and create a seamless output with faultless execution. If there is a single error in your Python code, rest assured that Python will report it as it comes.

But what if there are multiple errors in your code? However, Python will still report the first encountered error only, making it difficult to debug the remaining set of errors. At this juncture, Python 3.11’s exception groups come to the fore. You can bundle up unrelated exceptions together and club them under the except* syntax.

In Python, you face different errors, such as TypeError, IndentationError, SyntaxError, NameError, ImportError, and many more. Depending on the purpose of the code, you would incur one or more of these listed errors. Some, such as the IndentationError, are easy to fix in your Python code. But solving bugs error-by-error is inefficient.

So, to handle all these errors in one go, you can use the try…except* function like:

try:
raise ExceptionGroup ("Validation Error"),  [
ValueError("You've entered an invalid value"), 
TypeError("You've entered an invalid type"),
IndentationError("You've encountered an indentation error")])
except* (ValueError, TypeError) as err:
print(repr(err))

The try and except is a commonly used hit-and-trial method used within Python’s previous versions. The except* function, available with 3.11, is capable enough to handle all related and unrelated exceptions within a primary group simultaneously.

As Python reads through each error segment, an associated trigger is generated with every subgroup execution, making it easier to handle exceptions.

Python 3.11’s the Newest Python Variant on the Block

Python 3.11 will radically change the essence of programming for beginners and advanced users alike. The best way to understand and learn some of these new features is by using it in real-time projects, especially if you’re still new to the world of programming.

Read Next

About The Author