Python interactive interpreter does not indent with tabs, tries to tab-complete

[Erik B. Andersen]

Using the python3 interactive interpreter, I can not use tabs to indent like I could on previous versions of Ubuntu (13.10 was what I was using before, now I'm using 14.04).

When I try to indent on the python interpreter command line, it simply does nothing the first time I press the tab key. The second time I press it, it shows a bunch of autocomplete suggestions.

For example
>>> if (True):
... <tab>print("true!")
  File "<stdin>", line 2
    print("true!")
        ^
IndentationError: expected an indented block

Could this be related to http://bugs.python.org/issue18988? Is the fix for that included in the version of python on 14.04?

I also found http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4809820/tab-key-not-indenting-in-python, in which one of the comments to an answer suggests trying <Ctrl-V><tab> when you want to insert a tab. That does work for me:

>>> if (True):
... <Ctrl-V><tab>print("true")
...
true

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: python3 3.4.0-0ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-24.46-generic 3.13.9
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia zfs zunicode zavl zcommon znvpair
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Sat May 3 11:36:57 2014
SourcePackage: python3-defaults
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to trusty on 2014-04-19 (14 days ago)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Matthias Klose (doko)]

this is done by intent. see http://bugs.python.org/issue5845

to remove this behaviour, use this in sitecustomize or usercustomize:

    try:
        del sys.__interactivehook__
    except AttributeError:
        pass

[Erik B. Andersen (azendale)]

Matthias, no, that was not apparently the intent, see the last two messages of that bug report:
http://bugs.python.org/issue5845#msg215784
The bug report was tracking multiple issues, and someone forgot about this one (and later said that they did, and said "should have gone back to being a release blocker after the alpha release to fix the tab-as-indent issue"). The intent of that bug report was to enable tab to complete, but also still allow tab in the interpreter as indentation (so a tab at the start of a (continuation) line would indent, and a tab after a non-whitespace character would complete).
They requested that this issue be raised in a new bugreport on the python bug tracker -- doing that now. Is it reasonable for me to set this bug back to confirmed?

[Erik B. Andersen (azendale)]

As requested in the upstream tracker, I've filed a bug in the upstream tracker: http://bugs.python.org/issue5845

[Erik B. Andersen (azendale)]

Oops, meant to include a different link in that last comment: http://bugs.python.org/issue22086