isinstance(.., file) for Python 3

[Ulrich Eckhardt]

Hi!

I have two problems that are related and that I'd like to solve together.

Firstly, I have code that allows either a file or a string representing 
its content as parameter. If the parameter is a file, the content is 
read from the file. In Python 2, I used "isinstance(p, file)" to 
determine whether the parameter p is a file. In Python 3, the 
returnvalue of open() is of type _io.TextIOWrapper, while the built-in 
class file doesn't exist, so I can't use that code.

Secondly, checking for the type is kind-of ugly, because it means that I 
can't use an object that fits but that doesn't have the right type. In 
other words, it breaks duck-typing. This is already broken in the Python 
2 code, but since I have to touch the code anyway, I might as well fix 
it on the way.

If possible, I'm looking for a solution that works for Pythons 2 and 3, 
since I'm not fully through the conversion yet and have clients that 
might use the older snake for some time before shedding their skin.

Suggestions?

Uli