diff --git a/test/Driver/Inputs/filelists/check-filelist-abc.py b/test/Driver/Inputs/filelists/check-filelist-abc.py
index 8a2247740946a..be198bf9825b2 100755
--- a/test/Driver/Inputs/filelists/check-filelist-abc.py
+++ b/test/Driver/Inputs/filelists/check-filelist-abc.py
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@
 
 with open(filelistFile, 'r') as f:
     lines = f.readlines()
-    assert(lines[0].endswith("/a.swift\n") or
-           lines[0].endswith("/a.swiftmodule\n"))
-    assert(lines[1].endswith("/b.swift\n") or
-           lines[1].endswith("/b.swiftmodule\n"))
-    assert(lines[2].endswith("/c.swift\n") or
-           lines[2].endswith("/c.swiftmodule\n"))
+    assert (lines[0].endswith("/a.swift\n") or
+            lines[0].endswith("/a.swiftmodule\n"))
+    assert (lines[1].endswith("/b.swift\n") or
+            lines[1].endswith("/b.swiftmodule\n"))
+    assert (lines[2].endswith("/c.swift\n") or
+            lines[2].endswith("/c.swiftmodule\n"))
 
 if primaryFile:
     print("Command-line primary", os.path.basename(primaryFile))
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
     primaryFilelistFile = sys.argv[sys.argv.index('-primary-filelist') + 1]
     with open(primaryFilelistFile, 'r') as f:
         lines = f.readlines()
-        assert(len(lines) == 1)
+        assert len(lines) == 1
         print("Handled", os.path.basename(lines[0]).rstrip())
 elif lines[0].endswith(".swiftmodule\n"):
     print("Handled modules")
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
     outputListFile = sys.argv[sys.argv.index('-output-filelist') + 1]
     with open(outputListFile, 'r') as f:
         lines = f.readlines()
-        assert(lines[0].endswith("/a.o\n") or lines[0].endswith("/a.bc\n"))
-        assert(lines[1].endswith("/b.o\n") or lines[1].endswith("/b.bc\n"))
-        assert(lines[2].endswith("/c.o\n") or lines[2].endswith("/c.bc\n"))
+        assert lines[0].endswith("/a.o\n") or lines[0].endswith("/a.bc\n")
+        assert lines[1].endswith("/b.o\n") or lines[1].endswith("/b.bc\n")
+        assert lines[2].endswith("/c.o\n") or lines[2].endswith("/c.bc\n")
     print("...with output!")
diff --git a/test/Serialization/Inputs/binary_sub.py b/test/Serialization/Inputs/binary_sub.py
index b1b3378db4ae1..b667b923fc5fc 100755
--- a/test/Serialization/Inputs/binary_sub.py
+++ b/test/Serialization/Inputs/binary_sub.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import sys
 
 (_, old, new) = sys.argv
-assert(len(old) == len(new))
+assert len(old) == len(new)
 
 if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
     data = sys.stdin.read()
diff --git a/tools/SourceKit/bindings/python/sourcekitd/capi.py b/tools/SourceKit/bindings/python/sourcekitd/capi.py
index 58b92358ed283..6d43a7f8c8e26 100644
--- a/tools/SourceKit/bindings/python/sourcekitd/capi.py
+++ b/tools/SourceKit/bindings/python/sourcekitd/capi.py
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ def to_python_object(self):
         elif var_ty == VariantType.UID:
             return UIdent(conf.lib.sourcekitd_variant_uid_get_value(self))
         else:
-            assert(var_ty == VariantType.BOOL)
+            assert var_ty == VariantType.BOOL
             return conf.lib.sourcekitd_variant_bool_get_value(self)
 
     def to_python_array(self):
diff --git a/utils/GYBUnicodeDataUtils.py b/utils/GYBUnicodeDataUtils.py
index 3c541c4d5076c..73a72c6b084b2 100644
--- a/utils/GYBUnicodeDataUtils.py
+++ b/utils/GYBUnicodeDataUtils.py
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ def verify(self, unicode_property):
         for cp in range(0, 0x110000):
             expected_value = unicode_property.get_value(cp)
             actual_value = self.get_value(cp)
-            assert(expected_value == actual_value)
+            assert expected_value == actual_value
 
     def freeze(self):
         """Compress internal trie representation.
@@ -405,12 +405,12 @@ def map_index(idx):
 
     def _int_to_le_bytes(self, data, width):
         if width == 1:
-            assert(data & ~0xff == 0)
+            assert data & ~0xff == 0
             return [data]
         if width == 2:
-            assert(data & ~0xffff == 0)
+            assert data & ~0xffff == 0
             return [data & 0xff, data & 0xff00]
-        assert(False)
+        assert False
 
     def _int_list_to_le_bytes(self, ints, width):
         return [
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ def get_extended_grapheme_cluster_rules_matrix(grapheme_cluster_break_table):
                 rules_matrix[first][second] = action
 
     # Make sure we can pack one row of the matrix into a 'uint16_t'.
-    assert(len(any_value) <= 16)
+    assert len(any_value) <= 16
 
     result = []
     for first in any_value:
@@ -572,9 +572,9 @@ def _convert_line(line):
         return (test, boundaries)
 
     # Self-test.
-    assert(_convert_line(u'÷ 0903 × 0308 ÷ AC01 ÷ # abc') == (
-        '\\xe0\\xa4\\x83\\xcc\\x88\\xea\\xb0\\x81', [0, 5, 8]))
-    assert(_convert_line(u'÷ D800 ÷ # abc') == ('\\xe2\\x80\\x8b', [0, 3]))
+    assert (_convert_line(u'÷ 0903 × 0308 ÷ AC01 ÷ # abc') ==
+            ('\\xe0\\xa4\\x83\\xcc\\x88\\xea\\xb0\\x81', [0, 5, 8]))
+    assert _convert_line(u'÷ D800 ÷ # abc') == ('\\xe2\\x80\\x8b', [0, 3])
 
     result = []
 
@@ -627,9 +627,9 @@ def _convert_line(line):
         return (test, boundaries)
 
     # Self-test.
-    assert(_convert_line('÷ 0903 × 0308 ÷ AC01 ÷ # abc') == ([
-        0x0903, 0x0308, 0xac01], [0, 2, 3]))
-    assert(_convert_line('÷ D800 ÷ # abc') == ([0x200b], [0, 1]))
+    assert (_convert_line('÷ 0903 × 0308 ÷ AC01 ÷ # abc') ==
+            ([0x0903, 0x0308, 0xac01], [0, 2, 3]))
+    assert _convert_line('÷ D800 ÷ # abc') == ([0x200b], [0, 1])
 
     result = []
 
diff --git a/utils/backtrace-check b/utils/backtrace-check
index 350992b4374a7..aa60eba7aec99 100755
--- a/utils/backtrace-check
+++ b/utils/backtrace-check
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def main():
         # First see if we found the start of our stack trace start. If so, set
         # the found stack trace flag and continue.
         if line == 'Current stack trace:':
-            assert(not found_stack_trace_start)
+            assert not found_stack_trace_start
             found_stack_trace_start = True
             continue
 
@@ -97,11 +97,11 @@ def main():
 
         # Check for unavailable symbols, if that was requested.
         if args.check_unavailable:
-            assert('unavailable' not in matches.group('routine'))
+            assert 'unavailable' not in matches.group('routine')
 
     # Once we have processed all of the lines, make sure that we found at least
     # one stack trace entry.
-    assert(found_stack_trace_entry)
+    assert found_stack_trace_entry
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
diff --git a/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/list_reducer.py b/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/list_reducer.py
index 6940e0a566b65..d7de360c54cb5 100644
--- a/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/list_reducer.py
+++ b/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/list_reducer.py
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ def _test_prefix_suffix(self, mid, prefix, suffix):
             self._reset_progress()
             return False
 
-        assert(result == TESTRESULT_NOFAILURE)
+        assert result == TESTRESULT_NOFAILURE
         # The property does not hold. Some of the elements we removed must
         # be necessary to maintain the property.
         self.mid_top = mid
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ def _trim_try_backjump_and_trim_suffix(self):
     def reduce_list(self):
         random.seed(0x6e5ea738)  # Seed the random number generator
         (result, self.target_list, kept) = self.run_test(self.target_list, [])
-        assert(result in TESTRESULTS)
+        assert result in TESTRESULTS
         (should_continue, result) = self._should_continue(result)
         if not should_continue:
             return result
diff --git a/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/swift_tools.py b/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/swift_tools.py
index 38497ace952aa..c52a2b9267591 100644
--- a/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/swift_tools.py
+++ b/utils/bug_reducer/bug_reducer/swift_tools.py
@@ -157,8 +157,8 @@ def tool(self):
         return self.tools.sil_opt
 
     def _cmdline(self, input_file, passes, emit_sib, output_file='-'):
-        assert(isinstance(emit_sib, bool))
-        assert(isinstance(output_file, str))
+        assert isinstance(emit_sib, bool)
+        assert isinstance(output_file, str)
         base_args = self.base_args(emit_sib)
         sanity_check_file_exists(input_file)
         base_args.extend([input_file, '-o', output_file])
@@ -189,12 +189,12 @@ def tool(self):
 
     def _cmdline(self, input_file, funclist_path, emit_sib, output_file='-',
                  invert=False):
-        assert(isinstance(emit_sib, bool))
-        assert(isinstance(output_file, str))
+        assert isinstance(emit_sib, bool)
+        assert isinstance(output_file, str)
 
         sanity_check_file_exists(input_file)
         sanity_check_file_exists(funclist_path)
-        assert(isinstance(funclist_path, str))
+        assert isinstance(funclist_path, str)
         base_args = self.base_args(emit_sib)
         base_args.extend([input_file, '-o', output_file,
                           '-func-file=%s' % funclist_path])
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ def _cmdline(self, input_file, funclist_path, emit_sib, output_file='-',
 
     def _invoke(self, input_file, funclist_path, output_filename,
                 invert=False):
-        assert(isinstance(funclist_path, str))
+        assert isinstance(funclist_path, str)
         cmdline = self._cmdline(input_file,
                                 funclist_path,
                                 True,
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ def _invoke(self, input_file, funclist_path, output_filename,
 
     def invoke_with_functions(self, funclist_path, output_filename,
                               invert=False):
-        assert(isinstance(funclist_path, str))
+        assert isinstance(funclist_path, str)
         return self._invoke(self.input_file, funclist_path, output_filename,
                             invert)
 
@@ -236,5 +236,5 @@ def get_symbols(self, input_file):
         output = subprocess.check_output(cmdline)
         for line in output.split("\n")[:-1]:
             t = tuple(line.split(" "))
-            assert(len(t) == 2)
+            assert len(t) == 2
             yield t
diff --git a/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_cache_utils.py b/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_cache_utils.py
index 38a9391fe74e0..6230db2404603 100644
--- a/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_cache_utils.py
+++ b/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_cache_utils.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def test_replaced_with_functools_lru_cache_python_3_2(self):
             def func():
                 return None
 
-        assert(mock_lru_cache.called)
+        assert mock_lru_cache.called
 
     def test_call_with_no_args(self):
         # Increments the counter once per unique call.
diff --git a/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_shell.py b/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_shell.py
index b179127e9b248..d2bd3d2160a39 100644
--- a/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_shell.py
+++ b/utils/build_swift/tests/build_swift/test_shell.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def test_echo_command(self):
 
         mock_stream.write.assert_called_with(
             '>>> {}\n'.format(shell.quote(test_command)))
-        assert(mock_stream.flush.called)
+        assert mock_stream.flush.called
 
     @utils.requires_module('unittest.mock')
     def test_echo_command_custom_prefix(self):
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ def test_echo_command_custom_prefix(self):
         shell._echo_command('ls', mock_stream, prefix='$ ')
 
         mock_stream.write.assert_called_with('$ ls\n')
-        assert(mock_stream.flush.called)
+        assert mock_stream.flush.called
 
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
     # _normalize_args
diff --git a/utils/dev-scripts/scurve_printer.py b/utils/dev-scripts/scurve_printer.py
index 1a77477dc591f..e302ba5beccbb 100755
--- a/utils/dev-scripts/scurve_printer.py
+++ b/utils/dev-scripts/scurve_printer.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ def main():
     ax.set_xlim(0.0, 1.0)
     y_min = args.y_axis_min or 1.0 - y_limit
     y_max = args.y_axis_max or 1.0 + y_limit
-    assert(y_min <= y_max)
+    assert y_min <= y_max
     ax.set_ylim(y_min, y_max)
     ax.grid(True)
     ax.xaxis.set_ticks(np.arange(0.0, 1.0, 0.05))
diff --git a/utils/gyb_syntax_support/Node.py b/utils/gyb_syntax_support/Node.py
index 3192e422d7f0f..f9531374c859c 100644
--- a/utils/gyb_syntax_support/Node.py
+++ b/utils/gyb_syntax_support/Node.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ def __init__(self, name, description=None, kind=None, traits=None,
         self.omit_when_empty = omit_when_empty
         self.collection_element = element or ""
         # For SyntaxCollections make sure that the element_name is set.
-        assert(not self.is_syntax_collection() or element_name or element)
+        assert not self.is_syntax_collection() or element_name or element
         # If there's a preferred name for the collection element that differs
         # from its supertype, use that.
         self.collection_element_name = element_name or self.collection_element
diff --git a/utils/jobstats/jobstats.py b/utils/jobstats/jobstats.py
index 4acce6874ea7f..d52f06ffb0131 100644
--- a/utils/jobstats/jobstats.py
+++ b/utils/jobstats/jobstats.py
@@ -66,17 +66,17 @@ def __init__(self, jobkind, jobid, module, start_usec, dur_usec,
 
     def driver_jobs_ran(self):
         """Return the count of a driver job's ran sub-jobs"""
-        assert(self.is_driver_job())
+        assert self.is_driver_job()
         return self.stats.get("Driver.NumDriverJobsRun", 0)
 
     def driver_jobs_skipped(self):
         """Return the count of a driver job's skipped sub-jobs"""
-        assert(self.is_driver_job())
+        assert self.is_driver_job()
         return self.stats.get("Driver.NumDriverJobsSkipped", 0)
 
     def driver_jobs_total(self):
         """Return the total count of a driver job's ran + skipped sub-jobs"""
-        assert(self.is_driver_job())
+        assert self.is_driver_job()
         return self.driver_jobs_ran() + self.driver_jobs_skipped()
 
     def merged_with(self, other, merge_by="sum"):
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ def divided_by(self, n):
     def incrementality_percentage(self):
         """Assuming the job is a driver job, return the amount of
         jobs that actually ran, as a percentage of the total number."""
-        assert(self.is_driver_job())
+        assert self.is_driver_job()
         ran = self.driver_jobs_ran()
         total = self.driver_jobs_total()
         return round((float(ran) / float(total)) * 100.0, 2)
diff --git a/utils/line-directive b/utils/line-directive
index 7642fe3f6e3ed..e55e677197343 100755
--- a/utils/line-directive
+++ b/utils/line-directive
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def map_line_to_source_file(target_filename, target_line_num):
     >>> t.close()
     >>> os.remove(t.name)
     """
-    assert(target_line_num > 0)
+    assert target_line_num > 0
     map = fline_map(target_filename)
     index = bisect.bisect_left(map, (target_line_num, '', 0))
     base = map[index - 1]
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ def map_line_from_source_file(source_filename, source_line_num,
     >>> t.close()
     >>> os.remove(t.name)
     """
-    assert(source_line_num > 0)
+    assert source_line_num > 0
     map = fline_map(target_filename)
 
     for i, (target_line_num, found_source_filename,
diff --git a/utils/process-stats-dir.py b/utils/process-stats-dir.py
index 8180310d912e0..2c023c76ac859 100755
--- a/utils/process-stats-dir.py
+++ b/utils/process-stats-dir.py
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def vars_of_args(args):
 # of each of "old" and "new", and the stats are those found in the respective
 # dirs.
 def load_paired_stats_dirs(args):
-    assert(len(args.remainder) == 2)
+    assert len(args.remainder) == 2
     paired_stats = []
     (old, new) = args.remainder
     vargs = vars_of_args(args)
diff --git a/utils/scale-test b/utils/scale-test
index a48d745705e84..61759f0505a01 100755
--- a/utils/scale-test
+++ b/utils/scale-test
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ def converged(ctr, simplex, epsilon):
 def Nelder_Mead_simplex(objective, params, bounds, epsilon=1.0e-6):
     # By the book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelder%E2%80%93Mead_method
     ndim = len(params)
-    assert(ndim >= 2)
+    assert ndim >= 2
 
     def named(tup):
         return params.__new__(params.__class__, *tup)
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ def Nelder_Mead_simplex(objective, params, bounds, epsilon=1.0e-6):
             continue
 
         # 5. Contraction
-        assert(vr >= simplex[-2].val)
+        assert vr >= simplex[-2].val
         xc = tup_add(x0, tup_mul(rho, tup_sub(xw, x0)))
         vc = f(xc)
         if vc < vw:
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ def Nelder_Mead_simplex(objective, params, bounds, epsilon=1.0e-6):
 # perfectly") and finally returns (fit_params, r_squared).
 def fit_function_to_data_by_least_squares(objective, params, bounds, xs, ys):
 
-    assert(len(ys) > 0)
+    assert len(ys) > 0
     mean_y = sum(ys) / len(ys)
     ss_total = sum((y - mean_y) ** 2 for y in ys)
     data = list(zip(xs, ys))
diff --git a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_graph.py b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_graph.py
index 70f2ecccb739a..4814d078d1883 100644
--- a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_graph.py
+++ b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_graph.py
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def _get_po_ordered_nodes(root, invertedDepMap):
 
         # Then grab the dependents of our node.
         deps = invertedDepMap.get(node, set([]))
-        assert(isinstance(deps, set))
+        assert isinstance(deps, set)
 
         # Then visit those and see if we have not visited any of them. Push
         # any such nodes onto the worklist and continue. If we have already
@@ -92,13 +92,13 @@ def add_edge(self, pred, succ):
 
     def set_root(self, root):
         # Assert that we always only have one root.
-        assert(self.root is None)
+        assert self.root is None
         self.root = root
 
     def produce_schedule(self):
         # Grab the root and make sure it is not None
         root = self.root
-        assert(root is not None)
+        assert root is not None
 
         # Then perform a post order traversal from root using our inverted
         # dependency map to compute a list of our nodes in post order.
diff --git a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_script_invocation.py b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_script_invocation.py
index 7f4f0232b3605..e1a877a25efb5 100644
--- a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_script_invocation.py
+++ b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/build_script_invocation.py
@@ -692,7 +692,7 @@ def execute(self):
             if is_impl:
                 self._execute_impl(pipeline, all_hosts, perform_epilogue_opts)
             else:
-                assert(index != last_impl_index)
+                assert index != last_impl_index
                 if index > last_impl_index:
                     non_darwin_cross_compile_hostnames = [
                         target for target in self.args.cross_compile_hosts if not
diff --git a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/compiler_stage.py b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/compiler_stage.py
index e2b3189f7101a..e116f92c8499f 100644
--- a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/compiler_stage.py
+++ b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/compiler_stage.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ def __init__(self, stage, args):
         self.__dict__['postfix'] = stage.postfix
         self.__dict__['stage'] = stage
         self.__dict__['args'] = args
-        assert(not isinstance(self.args, StageArgs))
+        assert not isinstance(self.args, StageArgs)
 
     def _get_stage_prefix(self):
         return self.__dict__['postfix']
diff --git a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/productpipeline_list_builder.py b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/productpipeline_list_builder.py
index a6588259eef92..09c16611090ef 100644
--- a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/productpipeline_list_builder.py
+++ b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/productpipeline_list_builder.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class ProductPipeline(object):
        This class is meant to just be state.
     """
     def __init__(self, should_run_epilogue_operations, identity, is_impl):
-        assert(isinstance(identity, int))
+        assert isinstance(identity, int)
         self.identity = identity
         self.products = []
         self.is_impl = is_impl
@@ -95,16 +95,16 @@ def reset(self):
 
     def add_product(self, product_cls, is_enabled):
         """Add a non-impl product to the current pipeline begin constructed"""
-        assert(self.current_pipeline is not None)
-        assert(not self.is_current_pipeline_impl)
-        assert(not product_cls.is_build_script_impl_product())
+        assert self.current_pipeline is not None
+        assert not self.is_current_pipeline_impl
+        assert not product_cls.is_build_script_impl_product()
         self.current_pipeline.append(product_cls, is_enabled)
 
     def add_impl_product(self, product_cls, is_enabled):
         """Add a non-impl product to the current pipeline begin constructed"""
-        assert(self.current_pipeline is not None)
-        assert(self.is_current_pipeline_impl)
-        assert(product_cls.is_build_script_impl_product())
+        assert self.current_pipeline is not None
+        assert self.is_current_pipeline_impl
+        assert product_cls.is_build_script_impl_product()
         self.current_pipeline.append(product_cls, is_enabled)
 
     def infer(self):
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ def infer(self):
             for pipeline_i in range(len(pipeline)):
                 (p, is_enabled) = pipeline[pipeline_i]
                 # Make sure p has not been added multiple times to the builder.
-                assert(p not in products_to_generation_index)
+                assert p not in products_to_generation_index
                 products_to_generation_index[p] = (i, pipeline_i)
                 if is_enabled:
                     final_pipeline.append(p)
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ def infer(self):
             # our product are from our generation or earlier. If we find such a
             # dependency error.
             for (p, is_enabled) in pipeline:
-                assert(all(d in products_to_generation_index for d in
-                           p.get_dependencies()))
+                assert (all(d in products_to_generation_index for d in
+                            p.get_dependencies()))
 
         for i in range(len(inferred_pipeline_list)):
             pipeline = inferred_pipeline_list[i]
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ def infer(self):
                 (gen_offset, index) = products_to_generation_index[p]
                 # If we are from an earlier generation, our position in the
                 # inferred pipeline list may be None. Initialize it now.
-                assert(gen_offset <= i)
+                assert gen_offset <= i
                 inferred_pipeline_list[gen_offset][index] = p
 
         filtered_results = []
diff --git a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/shell.py b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/shell.py
index 222d540dd2c95..024c45ea6a431 100644
--- a/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/shell.py
+++ b/utils/swift_build_support/swift_build_support/shell.py
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ def run(*args, **kwargs):
     prefix = kwargs.pop('prefix', '')
     if dry_run:
         _echo_command(dry_run, *args, env=env, prompt="{0}+ ".format(prefix))
-        return(None, 0, args)
+        return (None, 0, args)
 
     my_pipe = subprocess.Popen(
         *args, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,