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No, % formatting was never deprecated. The Python 3.0 release notes [1] said "The plan is to eventually make this [the .format() method] the only API for string formatting, and to start deprecating the % operator in Python 3.1" but it never happened.

[1] http://docs.python.org/3.0/whatsnew/3.0.html

You're right and that surprises me as well.

> As noted above, ``%s`` is being included solely to help ease migration from, and/or have a single code base with, Python 2.

Some people thought % formatting sucked and made .format(). It was then discovered that some not insignificant number of people found .format() a complex abomination and so deprecation plans were nixed.

Interesting—do you have any links to back this up?

Nope, it is my opinion.

Yes. And then they bought it back again. Py3.3, I think...

If "you think", please look it up instead of blindly confirming.

%s was never deprecated. str.format is said to be preferred, and maybe one day it will completely replace %s. Heaven knows if that'll even happen in 4.0, it's a bigger switch than 3.x's print() and unicode changes combined.

http://docs.python.org/2/library/stdtypes.html#str.format