Missing codecs in Python 3.0

[Benjamin Peterson]

samwyse <samwyse <at> gmail.com> writes:

> 
> I have a Python 2.6 program (a code generator, actually) that tries
> several methods of compressing a string and chooses the most compact.
> It then writes out something like this:
>   { encoding='bz2_codec', data = '...'}

In 3.x, all codecs which don't directly map between unicode and bytestrings have
been removed.

> 
> I'm having two problems converting this to Py3.  First is the absence
> of the bz2_codec, among others.  It was very convenient for my program
> to delay selection of the decoding method until run-time and then have
> an easy way to load the appropriate code.  Is this gone forever from
> the standard libraries?

No, just use the bz2 module in the stdlib.

> 
> Second, I would write my data out using the 'string_escape' codec.

Why does the repr seem less efficient?