Prepare widespread unicode literal use

3 files changed, 158 insertions, 118 deletions

diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 653ca9a..bf7e35e 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
-from __future__ import print_function
+from __future__ import print_function, unicode_literals
 
 import pkg_resources
 import sys
diff --git a/test/test_unicode_literals.py b/test/test_unicode_literals.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f88ac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_unicode_literals.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+import io
+import os
+import re
+import unittest
+
+rootDir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+
+
+class TestUnicodeLiterals(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_all_files(self):
+        print('Skipping this test (not yet fully implemtned)')
+        return
+
+        for dirpath, _, filenames in os.walk(rootDir):
+            for basename in filenames:
+                if not basename.endswith('.py'):
+                    continue
+                fn = os.path.join(dirpath, basename)
+                with io.open(fn, encoding='utf-8') as inf:
+                    code = inf.read()
+
+                if "'" not in code and '"' not in code:
+                    continue
+                imps = 'from __future__ import unicode_literals'
+                self.assertTrue(
+                    imps in code,
+                    ' %s  missing in %s' % (imps, fn))
+
+                m = re.search(r'(?<=\s)u[\'"](?!\)|,|$)', code)
+                if m is not None:
+                    self.assertTrue(
+                        m is None,
+                        'u present in %s, around %s' % (
+                            fn, code[m.start() - 10:m.end() + 10]))
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 08037de..f70c356 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
-from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import absolute_import, unicode_literals
 
 import collections
 import errno
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 self._output_channel = os.fdopen(master, 'rb')
             except OSError as ose:
                 if ose.errno == 2:
-                    self.report_warning(u'Could not find fribidi executable, ignoring --bidi-workaround . Make sure that  fribidi  is an executable file in one of the directories in your $PATH.')
+                    self.report_warning('Could not find fribidi executable, ignoring --bidi-workaround . Make sure that  fribidi  is an executable file in one of the directories in your $PATH.')
                 else:
                     raise
 
@@ -209,13 +209,13 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 and not params['restrictfilenames']):
             # On Python 3, the Unicode filesystem API will throw errors (#1474)
             self.report_warning(
-                u'Assuming --restrict-filenames since file system encoding '
-                u'cannot encode all charactes. '
-                u'Set the LC_ALL environment variable to fix this.')
+                'Assuming --restrict-filenames since file system encoding '
+                'cannot encode all charactes. '
+                'Set the LC_ALL environment variable to fix this.')
             self.params['restrictfilenames'] = True
 
         if '%(stitle)s' in self.params.get('outtmpl', ''):
-            self.report_warning(u'%(stitle)s is deprecated. Use the %(title)s and the --restrict-filenames flag(which also secures %(uploader)s et al) instead.')
+            self.report_warning('%(stitle)s is deprecated. Use the %(title)s and the --restrict-filenames flag(which also secures %(uploader)s et al) instead.')
 
         self._setup_opener()
 
@@ -258,13 +258,13 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             return message
 
         assert hasattr(self, '_output_process')
-        assert type(message) == type(u'')
-        line_count = message.count(u'\n') + 1
-        self._output_process.stdin.write((message + u'\n').encode('utf-8'))
+        assert type(message) == type('')
+        line_count = message.count('\n') + 1
+        self._output_process.stdin.write((message + '\n').encode('utf-8'))
         self._output_process.stdin.flush()
-        res = u''.join(self._output_channel.readline().decode('utf-8')
+        res = ''.join(self._output_channel.readline().decode('utf-8')
                        for _ in range(line_count))
-        return res[:-len(u'\n')]
+        return res[:-len('\n')]
 
     def to_screen(self, message, skip_eol=False):
         """Print message to stdout if not in quiet mode."""
@@ -276,19 +276,19 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             self.params['logger'].debug(message)
         elif not check_quiet or not self.params.get('quiet', False):
             message = self._bidi_workaround(message)
-            terminator = [u'\n', u''][skip_eol]
+            terminator = ['\n', ''][skip_eol]
             output = message + terminator
 
             write_string(output, self._screen_file)
 
     def to_stderr(self, message):
         """Print message to stderr."""
-        assert type(message) == type(u'')
+        assert type(message) == type('')
         if self.params.get('logger'):
             self.params['logger'].error(message)
         else:
             message = self._bidi_workaround(message)
-            output = message + u'\n'
+            output = message + '\n'
             write_string(output, self._err_file)
 
     def to_console_title(self, message):
@@ -299,21 +299,21 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             # already of type unicode()
             ctypes.windll.kernel32.SetConsoleTitleW(ctypes.c_wchar_p(message))
         elif 'TERM' in os.environ:
-            write_string(u'\033]0;%s\007' % message, self._screen_file)
+            write_string('\033]0;%s\007' % message, self._screen_file)
 
     def save_console_title(self):
         if not self.params.get('consoletitle', False):
             return
         if 'TERM' in os.environ:
             # Save the title on stack
-            write_string(u'\033[22;0t', self._screen_file)
+            write_string('\033[22;0t', self._screen_file)
 
     def restore_console_title(self):
         if not self.params.get('consoletitle', False):
             return
         if 'TERM' in os.environ:
             # Restore the title from stack
-            write_string(u'\033[23;0t', self._screen_file)
+            write_string('\033[23;0t', self._screen_file)
 
     def __enter__(self):
         self.save_console_title()
@@ -339,13 +339,13 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         if self.params.get('verbose'):
             if tb is None:
                 if sys.exc_info()[0]:  # if .trouble has been called from an except block
-                    tb = u''
+                    tb = ''
                     if hasattr(sys.exc_info()[1], 'exc_info') and sys.exc_info()[1].exc_info[0]:
-                        tb += u''.join(traceback.format_exception(*sys.exc_info()[1].exc_info))
+                        tb += ''.join(traceback.format_exception(*sys.exc_info()[1].exc_info))
                     tb += compat_str(traceback.format_exc())
                 else:
                     tb_data = traceback.format_list(traceback.extract_stack())
-                    tb = u''.join(tb_data)
+                    tb = ''.join(tb_data)
             self.to_stderr(tb)
         if not self.params.get('ignoreerrors', False):
             if sys.exc_info()[0] and hasattr(sys.exc_info()[1], 'exc_info') and sys.exc_info()[1].exc_info[0]:
@@ -361,10 +361,10 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         If stderr is a tty file the 'WARNING:' will be colored
         '''
         if self._err_file.isatty() and os.name != 'nt':
-            _msg_header = u'\033[0;33mWARNING:\033[0m'
+            _msg_header = '\033[0;33mWARNING:\033[0m'
         else:
-            _msg_header = u'WARNING:'
-        warning_message = u'%s %s' % (_msg_header, message)
+            _msg_header = 'WARNING:'
+        warning_message = '%s %s' % (_msg_header, message)
         self.to_stderr(warning_message)
 
     def report_error(self, message, tb=None):
@@ -373,18 +373,18 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         in red if stderr is a tty file.
         '''
         if self._err_file.isatty() and os.name != 'nt':
-            _msg_header = u'\033[0;31mERROR:\033[0m'
+            _msg_header = '\033[0;31mERROR:\033[0m'
         else:
-            _msg_header = u'ERROR:'
-        error_message = u'%s %s' % (_msg_header, message)
+            _msg_header = 'ERROR:'
+        error_message = '%s %s' % (_msg_header, message)
         self.trouble(error_message, tb)
 
     def report_file_already_downloaded(self, file_name):
         """Report file has already been fully downloaded."""
         try:
-            self.to_screen(u'[download] %s has already been downloaded' % file_name)
+            self.to_screen('[download] %s has already been downloaded' % file_name)
         except UnicodeEncodeError:
-            self.to_screen(u'[download] The file has already been downloaded')
+            self.to_screen('[download] The file has already been downloaded')
 
     def increment_downloads(self):
         """Increment the ordinal that assigns a number to each file."""
@@ -399,61 +399,61 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             autonumber_size = self.params.get('autonumber_size')
             if autonumber_size is None:
                 autonumber_size = 5
-            autonumber_templ = u'%0' + str(autonumber_size) + u'd'
+            autonumber_templ = '%0' + str(autonumber_size) + 'd'
             template_dict['autonumber'] = autonumber_templ % self._num_downloads
             if template_dict.get('playlist_index') is not None:
-                template_dict['playlist_index'] = u'%05d' % template_dict['playlist_index']
+                template_dict['playlist_index'] = '%05d' % template_dict['playlist_index']
 
             sanitize = lambda k, v: sanitize_filename(
                 compat_str(v),
                 restricted=self.params.get('restrictfilenames'),
-                is_id=(k == u'id'))
+                is_id=(k == 'id'))
             template_dict = dict((k, sanitize(k, v))
                                  for k, v in template_dict.items()
                                  if v is not None)
-            template_dict = collections.defaultdict(lambda: u'NA', template_dict)
+            template_dict = collections.defaultdict(lambda: 'NA', template_dict)
 
             tmpl = os.path.expanduser(self.params['outtmpl'])
             filename = tmpl % template_dict
             return filename
         except ValueError as err:
-            self.report_error(u'Error in output template: ' + str(err) + u' (encoding: ' + repr(preferredencoding()) + ')')
+            self.report_error('Error in output template: ' + str(err) + ' (encoding: ' + repr(preferredencoding()) + ')')
             return None
 
     def _match_entry(self, info_dict):
         """ Returns None iff the file should be downloaded """
 
-        video_title = info_dict.get('title', info_dict.get('id', u'video'))
+        video_title = info_dict.get('title', info_dict.get('id', 'video'))
         if 'title' in info_dict:
             # This can happen when we're just evaluating the playlist
             title = info_dict['title']
             matchtitle = self.params.get('matchtitle', False)
             if matchtitle:
                 if not re.search(matchtitle, title, re.IGNORECASE):
-                    return u'"' + title + '" title did not match pattern "' + matchtitle + '"'
+                    return '"' + title + '" title did not match pattern "' + matchtitle + '"'
             rejecttitle = self.params.get('rejecttitle', False)
             if rejecttitle:
                 if re.search(rejecttitle, title, re.IGNORECASE):
-                    return u'"' + title + '" title matched reject pattern "' + rejecttitle + '"'
+                    return '"' + title + '" title matched reject pattern "' + rejecttitle + '"'
         date = info_dict.get('upload_date', None)
         if date is not None:
             dateRange = self.params.get('daterange', DateRange())
             if date not in dateRange:
-                return u'%s upload date is not in range %s' % (date_from_str(date).isoformat(), dateRange)
+                return '%s upload date is not in range %s' % (date_from_str(date).isoformat(), dateRange)
         view_count = info_dict.get('view_count', None)
         if view_count is not None:
             min_views = self.params.get('min_views')
             if min_views is not None and view_count < min_views:
-                return u'Skipping %s, because it has not reached minimum view count (%d/%d)' % (video_title, view_count, min_views)
+                return 'Skipping %s, because it has not reached minimum view count (%d/%d)' % (video_title, view_count, min_views)
             max_views = self.params.get('max_views')
             if max_views is not None and view_count > max_views:
-                return u'Skipping %s, because it has exceeded the maximum view count (%d/%d)' % (video_title, view_count, max_views)
+                return 'Skipping %s, because it has exceeded the maximum view count (%d/%d)' % (video_title, view_count, max_views)
         age_limit = self.params.get('age_limit')
         if age_limit is not None:
             if age_limit < info_dict.get('age_limit', 0):
-                return u'Skipping "' + title + '" because it is age restricted'
+                return 'Skipping "' + title + '" because it is age restricted'
         if self.in_download_archive(info_dict):
-            return u'%s has already been recorded in archive' % video_title
+            return '%s has already been recorded in archive' % video_title
         return None
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -480,8 +480,8 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 continue
 
             if not ie.working():
-                self.report_warning(u'The program functionality for this site has been marked as broken, '
-                                    u'and will probably not work.')
+                self.report_warning('The program functionality for this site has been marked as broken, '
+                                    'and will probably not work.')
 
             try:
                 ie_result = ie.extract(url)
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 else:
                     raise
         else:
-            self.report_error(u'no suitable InfoExtractor: %s' % url)
+            self.report_error('no suitable InfoExtractor: %s' % url)
 
     def process_ie_result(self, ie_result, download=True, extra_info={}):
         """
@@ -565,7 +565,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         elif result_type == 'playlist':
             # We process each entry in the playlist
             playlist = ie_result.get('title', None) or ie_result.get('id', None)
-            self.to_screen(u'[download] Downloading playlist: %s' % playlist)
+            self.to_screen('[download] Downloading playlist: %s' % playlist)
 
             playlist_results = []
 
@@ -580,11 +580,11 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             n_entries = len(entries)
 
             self.to_screen(
-                u"[%s] playlist '%s': Collected %d video ids (downloading %d of them)" %
+                "[%s] playlist '%s': Collected %d video ids (downloading %d of them)" %
                 (ie_result['extractor'], playlist, n_all_entries, n_entries))
 
             for i, entry in enumerate(entries, 1):
-                self.to_screen(u'[download] Downloading video #%s of %s' % (i, n_entries))
+                self.to_screen('[download] Downloading video #%s of %s' % (i, n_entries))
                 extra = {
                     'playlist': playlist,
                     'playlist_index': i + playliststart,
@@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
 
                 reason = self._match_entry(entry)
                 if reason is not None:
-                    self.to_screen(u'[download] ' + reason)
+                    self.to_screen('[download] ' + reason)
                     continue
 
                 entry_result = self.process_ie_result(entry,
@@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         elif format_spec == 'worst':
             return available_formats[0]
         else:
-            extensions = [u'mp4', u'flv', u'webm', u'3gp']
+            extensions = ['mp4', 'flv', 'webm', '3gp']
             if format_spec in extensions:
                 filter_f = lambda f: f['ext'] == format_spec
             else:
@@ -648,7 +648,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             info_dict['playlist_index'] = None
 
         # This extractors handle format selection themselves
-        if info_dict['extractor'] in [u'Youku']:
+        if info_dict['extractor'] in ['Youku']:
             if download:
                 self.process_info(info_dict)
             return info_dict
@@ -665,10 +665,10 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             if format.get('format_id') is None:
                 format['format_id'] = compat_str(i)
             if format.get('format') is None:
-                format['format'] = u'{id} - {res}{note}'.format(
+                format['format'] = '{id} - {res}{note}'.format(
                     id=format['format_id'],
                     res=self.format_resolution(format),
-                    note=u' ({0})'.format(format['format_note']) if format.get('format_note') is not None else '',
+                    note=' ({0})'.format(format['format_note']) if format.get('format_note') is not None else '',
                 )
             # Automatically determine file extension if missing
             if 'ext' not in format:
@@ -709,12 +709,12 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                     formats_to_download = [selected_format]
                     break
         if not formats_to_download:
-            raise ExtractorError(u'requested format not available',
+            raise ExtractorError('requested format not available',
                                  expected=True)
 
         if download:
             if len(formats_to_download) > 1:
-                self.to_screen(u'[info] %s: downloading video in %s formats' % (info_dict['id'], len(formats_to_download)))
+                self.to_screen('[info] %s: downloading video in %s formats' % (info_dict['id'], len(formats_to_download)))
             for format in formats_to_download:
                 new_info = dict(info_dict)
                 new_info.update(format)
@@ -732,7 +732,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
 
         info_dict['fulltitle'] = info_dict['title']
         if len(info_dict['title']) > 200:
-            info_dict['title'] = info_dict['title'][:197] + u'...'
+            info_dict['title'] = info_dict['title'][:197] + '...'
 
         # Keep for backwards compatibility
         info_dict['stitle'] = info_dict['title']
@@ -742,7 +742,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
 
         reason = self._match_entry(info_dict)
         if reason is not None:
-            self.to_screen(u'[download] ' + reason)
+            self.to_screen('[download] ' + reason)
             return
 
         max_downloads = self.params.get('max_downloads')
@@ -759,7 +759,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             self.to_stdout(info_dict['id'])
         if self.params.get('forceurl', False):
             # For RTMP URLs, also include the playpath
-            self.to_stdout(info_dict['url'] + info_dict.get('play_path', u''))
+            self.to_stdout(info_dict['url'] + info_dict.get('play_path', ''))
         if self.params.get('forcethumbnail', False) and info_dict.get('thumbnail') is not None:
             self.to_stdout(info_dict['thumbnail'])
         if self.params.get('forcedescription', False) and info_dict.get('description') is not None:
@@ -786,37 +786,37 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             if dn != '' and not os.path.exists(dn):
                 os.makedirs(dn)
         except (OSError, IOError) as err:
-            self.report_error(u'unable to create directory ' + compat_str(err))
+            self.report_error('unable to create directory ' + compat_str(err))
             return
 
         if self.params.get('writedescription', False):
-            descfn = filename + u'.description'
+            descfn = filename + '.description'
             if self.params.get('nooverwrites', False) and os.path.exists(encodeFilename(descfn)):
-                self.to_screen(u'[info] Video description is already present')
+                self.to_screen('[info] Video description is already present')
             else:
                 try:
-                    self.to_screen(u'[info] Writing video description to: ' + descfn)
+                    self.to_screen('[info] Writing video description to: ' + descfn)
                     with io.open(encodeFilename(descfn), 'w', encoding='utf-8') as descfile:
                         descfile.write(info_dict['description'])
                 except (KeyError, TypeError):
-                    self.report_warning(u'There\'s no description to write.')
+                    self.report_warning('There\'s no description to write.')
                 except (OSError, IOError):
-                    self.report_error(u'Cannot write description file ' + descfn)
+                    self.report_error('Cannot write description file ' + descfn)
                     return
 
         if self.params.get('writeannotations', False):
-            annofn = filename + u'.annotations.xml'
+            annofn = filename + '.annotations.xml'
             if self.params.get('nooverwrites', False) and os.path.exists(encodeFilename(annofn)):
-                self.to_screen(u'[info] Video annotations are already present')
+                self.to_screen('[info] Video annotations are already present')
             else:
                 try:
-                    self.to_screen(u'[info] Writing video annotations to: ' + annofn)
+                    self.to_screen('[info] Writing video annotations to: ' + annofn)
                     with io.open(encodeFilename(annofn), 'w', encoding='utf-8') as annofile:
                         annofile.write(info_dict['annotations'])
                 except (KeyError, TypeError):
-                    self.report_warning(u'There are no annotations to write.')
+                    self.report_warning('There are no annotations to write.')
                 except (OSError, IOError):
-                    self.report_error(u'Cannot write annotations file: ' + annofn)
+                    self.report_error('Cannot write annotations file: ' + annofn)
                     return
 
         subtitles_are_requested = any([self.params.get('writesubtitles', False),
@@ -834,45 +834,45 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 try:
                     sub_filename = subtitles_filename(filename, sub_lang, sub_format)
                     if self.params.get('nooverwrites', False) and os.path.exists(encodeFilename(sub_filename)):
-                        self.to_screen(u'[info] Video subtitle %s.%s is already_present' % (sub_lang, sub_format))
+                        self.to_screen('[info] Video subtitle %s.%s is already_present' % (sub_lang, sub_format))
                     else:
-                        self.to_screen(u'[info] Writing video subtitles to: ' + sub_filename)
+                        self.to_screen('[info] Writing video subtitles to: ' + sub_filename)
                         with io.open(encodeFilename(sub_filename), 'w', encoding='utf-8') as subfile:
                                 subfile.write(sub)
                 except (OSError, IOError):
-                    self.report_error(u'Cannot write subtitles file ' + descfn)
+                    self.report_error('Cannot write subtitles file ' + descfn)
                     return
 
         if self.params.get('writeinfojson', False):
-            infofn = os.path.splitext(filename)[0] + u'.info.json'
+            infofn = os.path.splitext(filename)[0] + '.info.json'
             if self.params.get('nooverwrites', False) and os.path.exists(encodeFilename(infofn)):
-                self.to_screen(u'[info] Video description metadata is already present')
+                self.to_screen('[info] Video description metadata is already present')
             else:
-                self.to_screen(u'[info] Writing video description metadata as JSON to: ' + infofn)
+                self.to_screen('[info] Writing video description metadata as JSON to: ' + infofn)
                 try:
                     write_json_file(info_dict, encodeFilename(infofn))
                 except (OSError, IOError):
-                    self.report_error(u'Cannot write metadata to JSON file ' + infofn)
+                    self.report_error('Cannot write metadata to JSON file ' + infofn)
                     return
 
         if self.params.get('writethumbnail', False):
             if info_dict.get('thumbnail') is not None:
-                thumb_format = determine_ext(info_dict['thumbnail'], u'jpg')
-                thumb_filename = os.path.splitext(filename)[0] + u'.' + thumb_format
+                thumb_format = determine_ext(info_dict['thumbnail'], 'jpg')
+                thumb_filename = os.path.splitext(filename)[0] + '.' + thumb_format
                 if self.params.get('nooverwrites', False) and os.path.exists(encodeFilename(thumb_filename)):
-                    self.to_screen(u'[%s] %s: Thumbnail is already present' %
+                    self.to_screen('[%s] %s: Thumbnail is already present' %
                                    (info_dict['extractor'], info_dict['id']))
                 else:
-                    self.to_screen(u'[%s] %s: Downloading thumbnail ...' %
+                    self.to_screen('[%s] %s: Downloading thumbnail ...' %
                                    (info_dict['extractor'], info_dict['id']))
                     try:
                         uf = compat_urllib_request.urlopen(info_dict['thumbnail'])
                         with open(thumb_filename, 'wb') as thumbf:
                             shutil.copyfileobj(uf, thumbf)
-                        self.to_screen(u'[%s] %s: Writing thumbnail to: %s' %
+                        self.to_screen('[%s] %s: Writing thumbnail to: %s' %
                             (info_dict['extractor'], info_dict['id'], thumb_filename))
                     except (compat_urllib_error.URLError, compat_http_client.HTTPException, socket.error) as err:
-                        self.report_warning(u'Unable to download thumbnail "%s": %s' %
+                        self.report_warning('Unable to download thumbnail "%s": %s' %
                             (info_dict['thumbnail'], compat_str(err)))
 
         if not self.params.get('skip_download', False):
@@ -885,19 +885,19 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                         fd.add_progress_hook(ph)
                     success = fd.download(filename, info_dict)
                 except (compat_urllib_error.URLError, compat_http_client.HTTPException, socket.error) as err:
-                    self.report_error(u'unable to download video data: %s' % str(err))
+                    self.report_error('unable to download video data: %s' % str(err))
                     return
                 except (OSError, IOError) as err:
                     raise UnavailableVideoError(err)
                 except (ContentTooShortError, ) as err:
-                    self.report_error(u'content too short (expected %s bytes and served %s)' % (err.expected, err.downloaded))
+                    self.report_error('content too short (expected %s bytes and served %s)' % (err.expected, err.downloaded))
                     return
 
             if success:
                 try:
                     self.post_process(filename, info_dict)
                 except (PostProcessingError) as err:
-                    self.report_error(u'postprocessing: %s' % str(err))
+                    self.report_error('postprocessing: %s' % str(err))
                     return
 
         self.record_download_archive(info_dict)
@@ -914,9 +914,9 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 #It also downloads the videos
                 self.extract_info(url)
             except UnavailableVideoError:
-                self.report_error(u'unable to download video')
+                self.report_error('unable to download video')
             except MaxDownloadsReached:
-                self.to_screen(u'[info] Maximum number of downloaded files reached.')
+                self.to_screen('[info] Maximum number of downloaded files reached.')
                 raise
 
         return self._download_retcode
@@ -929,7 +929,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         except DownloadError:
             webpage_url = info.get('webpage_url')
             if webpage_url is not None:
-                self.report_warning(u'The info failed to download, trying with "%s"' % webpage_url)
+                self.report_warning('The info failed to download, trying with "%s"' % webpage_url)
                 return self.download([webpage_url])
             else:
                 raise
@@ -953,10 +953,10 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 self.report_error(e.msg)
         if keep_video is False and not self.params.get('keepvideo', False):
             try:
-                self.to_screen(u'Deleting original file %s (pass -k to keep)' % filename)
+                self.to_screen('Deleting original file %s (pass -k to keep)' % filename)
                 os.remove(encodeFilename(filename))
             except (IOError, OSError):
-                self.report_warning(u'Unable to remove downloaded video file')
+                self.report_warning('Unable to remove downloaded video file')
 
     def _make_archive_id(self, info_dict):
         # Future-proof against any change in case
@@ -967,7 +967,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 extractor = info_dict.get('ie_key')  # key in a playlist
         if extractor is None:
             return None  # Incomplete video information
-        return extractor.lower() + u' ' + info_dict['id']
+        return extractor.lower() + ' ' + info_dict['id']
 
     def in_download_archive(self, info_dict):
         fn = self.params.get('download_archive')
@@ -995,7 +995,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         vid_id = self._make_archive_id(info_dict)
         assert vid_id
         with locked_file(fn, 'a', encoding='utf-8') as archive_file:
-            archive_file.write(vid_id + u'\n')
+            archive_file.write(vid_id + '\n')
 
     @staticmethod
     def format_resolution(format, default='unknown'):
@@ -1005,49 +1005,49 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             return format['resolution']
         if format.get('height') is not None:
             if format.get('width') is not None:
-                res = u'%sx%s' % (format['width'], format['height'])
+                res = '%sx%s' % (format['width'], format['height'])
             else:
-                res = u'%sp' % format['height']
+                res = '%sp' % format['height']
         elif format.get('width') is not None:
-            res = u'?x%d' % format['width']
+            res = '?x%d' % format['width']
         else:
             res = default
         return res
 
     def list_formats(self, info_dict):
         def format_note(fdict):
-            res = u''
+            res = ''
             if fdict.get('ext') in ['f4f', 'f4m']:
-                res += u'(unsupported) '
+                res += '(unsupported) '
             if fdict.get('format_note') is not None:
-                res += fdict['format_note'] + u' '
+                res += fdict['format_note'] + ' '
             if fdict.get('tbr') is not None:
-                res += u'%4dk ' % fdict['tbr']
+                res += '%4dk ' % fdict['tbr']
             if (fdict.get('vcodec') is not None and
                     fdict.get('vcodec') != 'none'):
-                res += u'%-5s@' % fdict['vcodec']
+                res += '%-5s@' % fdict['vcodec']
             elif fdict.get('vbr') is not None and fdict.get('abr') is not None:
-                res += u'video@'
+                res += 'video@'
             if fdict.get('vbr') is not None:
-                res += u'%4dk' % fdict['vbr']
+                res += '%4dk' % fdict['vbr']
             if fdict.get('acodec') is not None:
                 if res:
-                    res += u', '
-                res += u'%-5s' % fdict['acodec']
+                    res += ', '
+                res += '%-5s' % fdict['acodec']
             elif fdict.get('abr') is not None:
                 if res:
-                    res += u', '
+                    res += ', '
                 res += 'audio'
             if fdict.get('abr') is not None:
-                res += u'@%3dk' % fdict['abr']
+                res += '@%3dk' % fdict['abr']
             if fdict.get('filesize') is not None:
                 if res:
-                    res += u', '
+                    res += ', '
                 res += format_bytes(fdict['filesize'])
             return res
 
         def line(format, idlen=20):
-            return ((u'%-' + compat_str(idlen + 1) + u's%-10s%-12s%s') % (
+            return (('%-' + compat_str(idlen + 1) + 's%-10s%-12s%s') % (
                 format['format_id'],
                 format['ext'],
                 self.format_resolution(format),
@@ -1055,7 +1055,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             ))
 
         formats = info_dict.get('formats', [info_dict])
-        idlen = max(len(u'format code'),
+        idlen = max(len('format code'),
                     max(len(f['format_id']) for f in formats))
         formats_s = [line(f, idlen) for f in formats]
         if len(formats) > 1:
@@ -1063,10 +1063,10 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             formats_s[-1] += (' ' if format_note(formats[-1]) else '') + '(best)'
 
         header_line = line({
-            'format_id': u'format code', 'ext': u'extension',
-            'resolution': u'resolution', 'format_note': u'note'}, idlen=idlen)
-        self.to_screen(u'[info] Available formats for %s:\n%s\n%s' %
-                       (info_dict['id'], header_line, u"\n".join(formats_s)))
+            'format_id': 'format code', 'ext': 'extension',
+            'resolution': 'resolution', 'format_note': 'note'}, idlen=idlen)
+        self.to_screen('[info] Available formats for %s:\n%s\n%s' %
+                       (info_dict['id'], header_line, '\n'.join(formats_s)))
 
     def urlopen(self, req):
         """ Start an HTTP download """
@@ -1075,7 +1075,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
     def print_debug_header(self):
         if not self.params.get('verbose'):
             return
-        write_string(u'[debug] youtube-dl version ' + __version__ + u'\n')
+        write_string('[debug] youtube-dl version ' + __version__ + '\n')
         try:
             sp = subprocess.Popen(
                 ['git', 'rev-parse', '--short', 'HEAD'],
@@ -1084,20 +1084,20 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             out, err = sp.communicate()
             out = out.decode().strip()
             if re.match('[0-9a-f]+', out):
-                write_string(u'[debug] Git HEAD: ' + out + u'\n')
+                write_string('[debug] Git HEAD: ' + out + '\n')
         except:
             try:
                 sys.exc_clear()
             except:
                 pass
-        write_string(u'[debug] Python version %s - %s' %
-                     (platform.python_version(), platform_name()) + u'\n')
+        write_string('[debug] Python version %s - %s' %
+                     (platform.python_version(), platform_name()) + '\n')
 
         proxy_map = {}
         for handler in self._opener.handlers:
             if hasattr(handler, 'proxies'):
                 proxy_map.update(handler.proxies)
-        write_string(u'[debug] Proxy map: ' + compat_str(proxy_map) + u'\n')
+        write_string('[debug] Proxy map: ' + compat_str(proxy_map) + '\n')
 
     def _setup_opener(self):
         timeout_val = self.params.get('socket_timeout')