Converting bytes to str in Python 3.0 via Functions

Last week, we looked at how to convert between strings of the str data type and strings of the bytes data type using methods in the string class of Python 3.x. Another way that is a bit more straightforward is to simply call the function form of the target data type. So, to convert to str, call

str(<bytes string>, <encoding>)

Similarly, you can make bytes from str with

bytes(<str string>, <encoding>)

For more on the syntax of each, see "Converting str to bytes via Functions" in "A Guide to Text vs Data in Python 3.0".