5.x Series — IPython 5.3.0 documentation

# 5.x Series

## IPython 5.3

Released on January 29th, 2017. Remarkable changes and fixes:

- Fix a bug in `set_next_input` leading to a crash of terminal IPython. PR #10231, #10296, #10229
- Always wait for editor inputhook for terminal IPython PR #10239, PR #10240
- Disable `_ipython_display_` in terminal PR #10249, PR #10274
- Update terminal colors to be more visible by default on windows PR #10260, PR #10238, #10281
- Add Ctrl-Z shortcut (suspend) in terminal debugger PR #10254, #10273
- Indent on new line by looking at the text before the cursor PR #10264, PR #10275, #9283
- Update QtEventloop integration to fix some matplotlib integration issues PR #10201, PR #10311, #10201
- Respect completions display style in terminal debugger PR #10305, PR #10313
- Add a config option `TerminalInteractiveShell.extra_open_editor_shortcuts` to enable extra shortcuts to open the input in an editor. These are `v` in vi mode, and `C-X C-E` in emacs mode (PR #10330). The `F2` shortcut is always enabled.

## IPython 5.2.2

- Fix error when starting with `IPCompleter.limit_to__all__` configured.

## IPython 5.2.1

- Fix tab completion in the debugger. PR #10223

## IPython 5.2

Released on January 29th, 2017. Remarkable changes and fixes:

- restore IPython’s debugger to raise on quit. PR #10009
- The configuration value `c.TerminalInteractiveShell.highlighting_style` can now directly take a class argument for custom color style. PR #9848
- Correctly handle matplotlib figures dpi PR #9868
- Deprecate `-e` flag for the `%notebook` magic that had no effects. PR #9872
- You can now press F2 while typing at a terminal prompt to edit the contents in your favourite terminal editor. Set the `EDITOR` environment variable to pick which editor is used. PR #9929
- sdists will now only be `.tar.gz` as per upstream PyPI requirements. PR #9925
- `IPython.core.debugger` have gained a `set_trace()` method for convenience. PR #9947
- The ‘smart command mode’ added to the debugger in 5.0 was removed, as more people preferred the previous behaviour. Therefore, debugger commands such as `c` will act as debugger commands even when `c` is defined as a variable. PR #10050
- Fixes OS X event loop issues at startup, PR #10150
- Deprecate the `%autoindent` magic. PR #10176
- Emit a `DeprecationWarning` when setting the deprecated `limit_to_all` option of the completer. PR #10198
- The `%%capture` magic can now capture the result of a cell (from an expression on the last line), as well as printed and displayed output. PR #9851.

Changes of behavior to `InteractiveShellEmbed`.

`InteractiveShellEmbed` interactive behavior have changed a bit in between 5.1 and 5.2. By default `%kill_embedded` magic will prevent further invocation of the current `call location` instead of preventing further invocation of the current instance creation location. For most use case this will not change much for you, though previous behavior was confusing and less consistent with previous IPython versions.

You can now deactivate instances by using `%kill_embedded --instance` flag, (or `-i` in short). The `%kill_embedded` magic also gained a `--yes`/`-y` option which skip confirmation step, and `-x`/`--exit` which also exit the current embedded call without asking for confirmation.

See PR #10207.

## IPython 5.1

- Broken `%timeit` on Python2 due to the use of `__qualname__`. PR #9804
- Restore `%gui qt` to create and return a `QApplication` if necessary. PR #9789
- Don’t set terminal title by default. PR #9801
- Preserve indentation when inserting newlines with `Ctrl-O`. PR #9770
- Restore completion in debugger. PR #9785
- Deprecate `IPython.core.debugger.Tracer()` in favor of simpler, newer, APIs. PR #9731
- Restore `NoOpContext` context manager removed by mistake, and add `DeprecationWarning`. PR #9765
- Add option allowing `Prompt_toolkit` to use 24bits colors. PR #9736
- Fix for closing interactive matplotlib windows on OS X. PR #9854
- An embedded interactive shell instance can be used more than once. PR #9843
- More robust check for whether IPython is in a terminal. PR #9833
- Better pretty-printing of dicts on PyPy. PR #9827
- Some coloured output now looks better on dark background command prompts in Windows. PR #9838
- Improved tab completion of paths on Windows . PR #9826
- Fix tkinter event loop integration on Python 2 with `future` installed. PR #9824
- Restore `Ctrl-\` as a shortcut to quit IPython.
- Make `get_ipython()` accessible when modules are imported by startup files. PR #9818
- Add support for running directories containing a `__main__.py` file with the `ipython` command. PR #9813

### True Color feature

`prompt_toolkit` uses pygments styles for syntax highlighting. By default, the colors specified in the style are approximated using a standard 256-color palette. `prompt_toolkit` also supports 24bit, a.k.a. “true”, a.k.a. 16-million color escape sequences which enable compatible terminals to display the exact colors specified instead of an approximation. This true_color option exposes that capability in prompt_toolkit to the IPython shell.

Here is a good source for the current state of true color support in various terminal emulators and software projects: https://gist.github.com/XVilka/8346728

## IPython 5.0

Released July 7, 2016

### New terminal interface

IPython 5 features a major upgrade to the terminal interface, bringing live syntax highlighting as you type, proper multiline editing and multiline paste, and tab completions that don’t clutter up your history.

These features are provided by the Python library prompt_toolkit, which replaces `readline` throughout our terminal interface.

Relying on this pure-Python, cross platform module also makes it simpler to install IPython. We have removed dependencies on `pyreadline` for Windows and `gnureadline` for Mac.

### Backwards incompatible changes

- The `%install_ext` magic function, deprecated since 4.0, has now been deleted. You can distribute and install extensions as packages on PyPI.
- Callbacks registered while an event is being handled will now only be called for subsequent events; previously they could be called for the current event. Similarly, callbacks removed while handling an event will always get that event. See #9447 and PR #9453.
- Integration with pydb has been removed since pydb development has been stopped since 2012, and pydb is not installable from PyPI.
- The `autoedit_syntax` option has apparently been broken for many years. It has been removed.

#### New terminal interface

The overhaul of the terminal interface will probably cause a range of minor issues for existing users. This is inevitable for such a significant change, and we’ve done our best to minimise these issues. Some changes that we’re aware of, with suggestions on how to handle them:

IPython no longer uses readline configuration (`~/.inputrc`). We hope that the functionality you want (e.g. vi input mode) will be available by configuring IPython directly (see Terminal IPython options). If something’s missing, please file an issue.

The `PromptManager` class has been removed, and the prompt machinery simplified. See Custom Prompts to customise prompts with the new machinery.

`IPython.core.debugger` now provides a plainer interface. `IPython.terminal.debugger` contains the terminal debugger using prompt_toolkit.

There are new options to configure the colours used in syntax highlighting. We have tried to integrate them with our classic `--colors` option and `%colors` magic, but there’s a mismatch in possibilities, so some configurations may produce unexpected results. See Terminal Colors for more information.

The new interface is not compatible with Emacs ‘inferior-shell’ feature. To continue using this, add the `--simple-prompt` flag to the command Emacs runs. This flag disables most IPython features, relying on Emacs to provide things like tab completion.

### Provisional Changes

Provisional changes are experimental functionality that may, or may not, make it into a future version of IPython, and which API may change without warnings. Activating these features and using these API are at your own risk, and may have security implication for your system, especially if used with the Jupyter notebook,

When running via the Jupyter notebook interfaces, or other compatible client, you can enable rich documentation experimental functionality:

When the `docrepr` package is installed setting the boolean flag `InteractiveShell.sphinxify_docstring` to `True`, will process the various object through sphinx before displaying them (see the `docrepr` package documentation for more information.

You need to also enable the IPython pager display rich HTML representation using the `InteractiveShell.enable_html_pager` boolean configuration option. As usual you can set these configuration options globally in your configuration files, alternatively you can turn them on dynamically using the following snippet:

    ip = get_ipython()
    ip.sphinxify_docstring = True
    ip.enable_html_pager = True

You can test the effect of various combinations of the above configuration in the Jupyter notebook, with things example like :

    import numpy as np
    np.histogram?

This is part of an effort to make Documentation in Python richer and provide in the long term if possible dynamic examples that can contain math, images, widgets... As stated above this is nightly experimental feature with a lot of (fun) problem to solve. We would be happy to get your feedback and expertise on it.

### Deprecated Features

Some deprecated features are listed in this section. Don’t forget to enable `DeprecationWarning` as an error if you are using IPython in a Continuous Integration setup or in your testing in general:

    import warnings
    warnings.filterwarnings('error', '.*', DeprecationWarning, module='yourmodule.*')

- `hooks.fix_error_editor` seems unused and is pending deprecation.
- `IPython/core/excolors.py:ExceptionColors` is deprecated.
- `IPython.core.InteractiveShell:write()` is deprecated; use `sys.stdout` instead.
- `IPython.core.InteractiveShell:write_err()` is deprecated; use `sys.stderr` instead.
- The `formatter` keyword argument to `Inspector.info` in `IPython.core.oinspec` has no effect.
- The `global_ns` keyword argument of IPython Embed was deprecated, and has no effect. Use `module` keyword argument instead.

### Known Issues:

- `<Esc>` Key does not dismiss the completer and does not clear the current buffer. This is an on purpose modification due to current technical limitation. Cf PR #9572. Escape the control character which is used for other shortcut, and there is no practical way to distinguish. Use Ctr-G or Ctrl-C as an alternative.
- Cannot use `Shift-Enter` and `Ctrl-Enter` to submit code in terminal. cf #9587 and #9401. In terminal there is no practical way to distinguish these key sequences from a normal new line return.
- `PageUp` and `pageDown` do not move through completion menu.
- Color styles might not adapt to terminal emulator themes. This will need new version of Pygments to be released, and can be mitigated with custom themes.