Why is print not a function in python?

Question

Why is print a keyword in python and not a function?

Answer 1

The print statement in Python 2.x has some special syntax which would not be available for an ordinary function. For example you can use a trailing , to suppress the output of a final newline or you can use >> to redirect the output to a file. But all this wasn't convincing enough even to Guido van Rossum himself to keep it a statement -- he turned print into a function in Python 3.x.