diff --git a/bin/osv/orm.py b/bin/osv/orm.py
index c8469c1ccc5..35edfe5b654 100644
--- a/bin/osv/orm.py
+++ b/bin/osv/orm.py
@@ -1218,7 +1218,7 @@ class orm_template(object):
                     if pos == 'replace':
                         parent = node.getparent()
                         if parent is None:
-                            src = copy.deepcopy(node2.getchildren()[0])
+                            src = copy.deepcopy(node2[0])
                         else:
                             for child in node2:
                                 node.addprevious(child)
@@ -3074,4 +3074,4 @@ class orm(orm_template):
                     return False
         return True
 
-# vim:expandtab:smartindent:tabstop=4:softtabstop=4:shiftwidth=4:
\ No newline at end of file
+# vim:expandtab:smartindent:tabstop=4:softtabstop=4:shiftwidth=4:
diff --git a/bin/report/printscreen/ps_list.py b/bin/report/printscreen/ps_list.py
index 744c2d21709..37a9adda880 100644
--- a/bin/report/printscreen/ps_list.py
+++ b/bin/report/printscreen/ps_list.py
@@ -36,14 +36,9 @@ class report_printscreen_list(report_int):
 
     def _parse_node(self, root_node):
         result = []
-        for node in root_node.getchildren():
+        for node in root_node:
             if node.tag == 'field':
-                attrsa = node.attrib
-                attrs = {}
-                if not attrsa is None:
-                   for key,val in attrsa.items():
-                    attrs[key] = val
-                result.append(attrs['name'])
+                result.append(node.get('name'))
             else:
                 result.extend(self._parse_node(node))
         return result
diff --git a/bin/report/render/html2html/html2html.py b/bin/report/render/html2html/html2html.py
index fa07e9b4726..9f81e26d4f2 100644
--- a/bin/report/render/html2html/html2html.py
+++ b/bin/report/render/html2html/html2html.py
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class html2html(object):
         return self._node
         
     def url_modify(self,root):
-        for n in root.getchildren():
+        for n in root:
             if (n.text.find('<a ')>=0 or n.text.find('&lt;a')>=0) and n.text.find('href')>=0 and n.text.find('style')<=0 :
                 node = (n.tag=='span' and n.getparent().tag=='u') and n.getparent().getparent() or ((n.tag=='span') and n.getparent()) or n
                 style = node.get('color') and "style='color:%s; text-decoration: none;'"%node.get('color') or ''
diff --git a/bin/report/render/rml2html/rml2html.py b/bin/report/render/rml2html/rml2html.py
index ea2a5583250..a3a14fc8aee 100644
--- a/bin/report/render/rml2html/rml2html.py
+++ b/bin/report/render/rml2html/rml2html.py
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ class _rml_template(object):
                 posx = int(utils.unit_get(tmpl.get('x1')))
                 frames[(posy,posx,tmpl.get('id'))] = _rml_tmpl_frame(posx, utils.unit_get(tmpl.get('width')))
             for tmpl in pt.findall('pageGraphics'):
-                for n in tmpl.getchildren():
+                for n in tmpl:
                         if n.tag == 'image':
                            self.data = rc + utils._process_text(self, n.text)
                         if n.tag in self._tags:
diff --git a/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/trml2pdf.py b/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/trml2pdf.py
index b3585254eb3..b7db9724781 100644
--- a/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/trml2pdf.py
+++ b/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/trml2pdf.py
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class _rml_styles(object,):
 
     def _table_style_get(self, style_node):
         styles = []
-        for node in style_node.getchildren():
+        for node in style_node:
             start = utils.tuple_int_get(node, 'start', (0,0) )
             stop = utils.tuple_int_get(node, 'stop', (-1,-1) )
             if node.tag=='blockValign':
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ class _rml_doc(object):
 
     def _textual_image(self, node):
         rc = ''
-        for n in node.getchildren():
+        for n in node:
             rc +=( etree.tostring(n) or '') + n.tail
         return base64.decodestring(node.tostring())
 
@@ -749,7 +749,8 @@ class _rml_template(object):
                     frame.lastFrame = True
                 frames.append( frame )
             try :
-                gr = pt.findall('pageGraphics') or pt.getchildren()[1].findall('pageGraphics')
+                gr = pt.findall('pageGraphics')\
+                    or pt[1].findall('pageGraphics')
             except :
                 gr=''
             if len(gr):
diff --git a/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/utils.py b/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/utils.py
index abc421a0f2f..bbccd23bb28 100644
--- a/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/utils.py
+++ b/bin/report/render/rml2pdf/utils.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def xml2str(s):
 
 def _child_get(node, self=None, tagname=None):
     for n in node:
-        if self and self.localcontext and n.get('rml_loop', False):
+        if self and self.localcontext and n.get('rml_loop'):
             oldctx = self.localcontext
 
             for ctx in eval(n.get('rml_loop'),{}, self.localcontext):
@@ -80,12 +80,12 @@ def _child_get(node, self=None, tagname=None):
                         yield n
             self.localcontext = oldctx
             continue
-        if self and self.localcontext and n.get('rml_except', False):
+        if self and self.localcontext and n.get('rml_except'):
             try:
                 eval(n.get('rml_except'), {}, self.localcontext)
             except:
                 continue
-        if self and self.localcontext and n.get('rml_tag', False):
+        if self and self.localcontext and n.get('rml_tag'):
             try:
                 (tag,attr) = eval(n.get('rml_tag'),{}, self.localcontext)
                 n2 = copy.deepcopy(n)
@@ -125,10 +125,7 @@ def _process_text(self, txt):
         return result
 
 def text_get(node):
-    rc = ''
-    for node in node.getchildren():
-            rc = rc + tools.ustr(node.text)
-    return rc
+    return ''.join([tools.ustr(n.text) for n in node])
 
 units = [
     (re.compile('^(-?[0-9\.]+)\s*in$'), reportlab.lib.units.inch),
@@ -158,8 +155,7 @@ def unit_get(size):
 def tuple_int_get(node, attr_name, default=None):
     if not node.get(attr_name):
         return default
-    res = [int(x) for x in node.get(attr_name).split(',')]
-    return res
+    return map(int, node.get(attr_name).split(','))
 
 def bool_get(value):
     return (str(value)=="1") or (value.lower()=='yes')
diff --git a/bin/report/report_sxw.py b/bin/report/report_sxw.py
index 1adca0b8176..0364511da13 100644
--- a/bin/report/report_sxw.py
+++ b/bin/report/report_sxw.py
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ class rml_parse(object):
             rml_head = rml_head.replace('<image','<!--image')
             rml_head = rml_head.replace('</image>','</image-->')
         head_dom = etree.XML(rml_head)
-        for tag in head_dom.getchildren():
+        for tag in head_dom:
             found = rml_dom.find('.//'+tag.tag)
             if found is not None and len(found):
                 if tag.get('position'):
@@ -462,13 +462,14 @@ class report_sxw(report_rml, preprocess.report):
         for pe in elements:
             if pe.get(rml_parser.localcontext['name_space']["meta"]+"name"):
                 if pe.get(rml_parser.localcontext['name_space']["meta"]+"name") == "Info 3":
-                    pe.getchildren()[0].text=data['id']
+                    pe[0].text=data['id']
                 if pe.get(rml_parser.localcontext['name_space']["meta"]+"name") == "Info 4":
-                    pe.getchildren()[0].text=data['model']
-        meta = etree.tostring(rml_dom_meta)
+                    pe[0].text=data['model']
+        meta = etree.tostring(rml_dom_meta, encoding='utf-8',
+                              xml_declaration=True)
 
         rml_dom =  etree.XML(rml)
-        body = rml_dom.getchildren()[-1]
+        body = rml_dom[-1]
         elements = []
         key1 = rml_parser.localcontext['name_space']["text"]+"p"
         key2 = rml_parser.localcontext['name_space']["text"]+"drop-down"
@@ -482,7 +483,7 @@ class report_sxw(report_rml, preprocess.report):
                     pp=de.getparent()
                     if de.text or de.tail:
                         pe.text = de.text or de.tail
-                    for cnd in de.getchildren():
+                    for cnd in de:
                         if cnd.text or cnd.tail:
                             if pe.text:
                                 pe.text +=  cnd.text or cnd.tail
@@ -508,12 +509,11 @@ class report_sxw(report_rml, preprocess.report):
 
         rml_dom = self.preprocess_rml(rml_dom,report_type)
         create_doc = self.generators[report_type]
-        odt = etree.tostring(create_doc(rml_dom, rml_parser.localcontext))
+        odt = etree.tostring(create_doc(rml_dom, rml_parser.localcontext),
+                             encoding='utf-8', xml_declaration=True)
         sxw_z = zipfile.ZipFile(sxw_io, mode='a')
-        sxw_z.writestr('content.xml', "<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>" + \
-                odt)
-        sxw_z.writestr('meta.xml', "<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>" + \
-                meta)
+        sxw_z.writestr('content.xml', odt)
+        sxw_z.writestr('meta.xml', meta)
 
         if report_xml.header:
             #Add corporate header/footer
@@ -528,9 +528,9 @@ class report_sxw(report_rml, preprocess.report):
             odt = create_doc(rml_dom,rml_parser.localcontext)
             if report_xml.header:
                 rml_parser._add_header(odt)
-            odt = etree.tostring(odt)
-            sxw_z.writestr('styles.xml',"<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>" + \
-                    odt)
+            odt = etree.tostring(odt, encoding='utf-8',
+                                 xml_declaration=True)
+            sxw_z.writestr('styles.xml', odt)
         sxw_z.close()
         final_op = sxw_io.getvalue()
         sxw_io.close()
diff --git a/bin/tools/convert.py b/bin/tools/convert.py
index 749867c3862..f48cb8e4817 100644
--- a/bin/tools/convert.py
+++ b/bin/tools/convert.py
@@ -57,17 +57,16 @@ def _eval_xml(self,node, pool, cr, uid, idref, context=None):
     if context is None:
         context = {}
     if node.tag in ('field','value'):
-            t = node.get('type','') or 'char'
-            f_model = node.get("model", '').encode('ascii')
-            if len(node.get('search','')):
+            t = node.get('type','char')
+            f_model = node.get('model', '').encode('ascii')
+            if node.get('search'):
                 f_search = node.get("search",'').encode('utf-8')
-                f_use = node.get("use",'').encode('ascii')
+                f_use = node.get("use",'id').encode('ascii')
                 f_name = node.get("name",'').encode('utf-8')
-                if len(f_use)==0:
-                    f_use = "id"
+
                 q = eval(f_search, idref)
                 ids = pool.get(f_model).search(cr, uid, q)
-                if f_use<>'id':
+                if f_use != 'id':
                     ids = map(lambda x: x[f_use], pool.get(f_model).read(cr, uid, ids, [f_use]))
                 _cols = pool.get(f_model)._columns
                 if (f_name in _cols) and _cols[f_name]._type=='many2many':
@@ -79,7 +78,7 @@ def _eval_xml(self,node, pool, cr, uid, idref, context=None):
                         f_val = f_val[0]
                 return f_val
             a_eval = node.get('eval','')
-            if len(a_eval):
+            if a_eval:
                 import time
                 from mx import DateTime
                 idref2 = idref.copy()
@@ -107,54 +106,53 @@ def _eval_xml(self,node, pool, cr, uid, idref, context=None):
                         if not id in idref:
                             idref[id]=self.id_get(cr, False, id)
                     return s % idref
-                txt = '<?xml version="1.0"?>\n'+_process("".join([etree.tostring(i).encode("utf8") for i in node.getchildren()]), idref)
-                return txt
+                return '<?xml version="1.0"?>\n'\
+                    +_process("".join([etree.tostring(n, encoding='utf-8')
+                                       for n in node]),
+                              idref)
             if t in ('char', 'int', 'float'):
-                d = ""
                 d = node.text
                 if t == 'int':
                     d = d.strip()
-                    if d=='None':
+                    if d == 'None':
                         return None
                     else:
-                        d=int(d.strip())
-                elif t=='float':
-                    d=float(d.strip())
+                        return int(d.strip())
+                elif t == 'float':
+                    return float(d.strip())
                 return d
             elif t in ('list','tuple'):
                 res=[]
-                for n in [i for i in node.getchildren() if (i.tag=='value')]:
+                for n in node.findall('./value'):
                     res.append(_eval_xml(self,n,pool,cr,uid,idref))
                 if t=='tuple':
                     return tuple(res)
                 return res
     elif node.tag == "getitem":
-        for n in [i for i in node.getchildren()]:
+        for n in node:
             res=_eval_xml(self,n,pool,cr,uid,idref)
         if not res:
             raise LookupError
-        elif node.get('type','') in ("int", "list"):
-            return res[int(node.get('index',''))]
+        elif node.get('type') in ("int", "list"):
+            return res[int(node.get('index'))]
         else:
             return res[node.get('index','').encode("utf8")]
     elif node.tag == "function":
         args = []
         a_eval = node.get('eval','')
-        if len(a_eval):
+        if a_eval:
             idref['ref'] = lambda x: self.id_get(cr, False, x)
             args = eval(a_eval, idref)
-        for n in [i for i in node.getchildren()]:
+        for n in node:
             return_val = _eval_xml(self,n, pool, cr, uid, idref, context)
-            if return_val != None:
+            if return_val is not None:
                 args.append(return_val)
         model = pool.get(node.get('model',''))
         method = node.get('name','')
         res = getattr(model, method)(cr, uid, *args)
         return res
     elif node.tag == "test":
-        d = node.text
-        return d
-
+        return node.text
 
 escape_re = re.compile(r'(?<!\\)/')
 def escape(x):
@@ -211,14 +209,14 @@ class xml_import(object):
             context = {}
 
         node_context = node.get("context",'').encode('utf8')
-        if len(node_context):
+        if node_context:
             context.update(eval(node_context, eval_dict))
 
         return context
 
     def get_uid(self, cr, uid, data_node, node):
         node_uid = node.get('uid','') or (len(data_node) and data_node.get('uid',''))
-        if len(node_uid):
+        if node_uid:
             return self.id_get(cr, None, node_uid)
         return uid
 
@@ -241,18 +239,17 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         d_search = rec.get("search",'')
         d_id = rec.get("id",'')
         ids = []
-        if len(d_search):
+        if d_search:
             ids = self.pool.get(d_model).search(cr,self.uid,eval(d_search))
-        if len(d_id):
+        if d_id:
             try:
                 ids.append(self.id_get(cr, d_model, d_id))
             except:
                 # d_id cannot be found. doesn't matter in this case
                 pass
-        if len(ids):
+        if ids:
             self.pool.get(d_model).unlink(cr, self.uid, ids)
             self.pool.get('ir.model.data')._unlink(cr, self.uid, d_model, ids, direct=True)
-        return False
 
     def _tag_report(self, cr, rec, data_node=None):
         res = {}
@@ -261,15 +258,15 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             assert res[dest], "Attribute %s of report is empty !" % (f,)
         for field,dest in (('rml','report_rml'),('xml','report_xml'),('xsl','report_xsl'),('attachment','attachment'),('attachment_use','attachment_use')):
             if rec.get(field):
-                res[dest] = rec.get(field,'').encode('utf8')
+                res[dest] = rec.get(field).encode('utf8')
         if rec.get('auto'):
-            res['auto'] = eval(rec.get('auto',''))
+            res['auto'] = eval(rec.get('auto'))
         if rec.get('sxw'):
-            sxw_content = misc.file_open(rec.get('sxw','')).read()
+            sxw_content = misc.file_open(rec.get('sxw')).read()
             res['report_sxw_content'] = sxw_content
         if rec.get('header'):
-            res['header'] = eval(rec.get('header',''))
-        res['multi'] = rec.get('multi','') and eval(rec.get('multi',''))
+            res['header'] = eval(rec.get('header'))
+        res['multi'] = rec.get('multi') and eval(rec.get('multi',''))
         xml_id = rec.get('id','').encode('utf8')
         self._test_xml_id(xml_id)
 
@@ -290,10 +287,10 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         self.idref[xml_id] = int(id)
 
         if not rec.get('menu') or eval(rec.get('menu','')):
-            keyword = str(rec.get('keyword','') or 'client_print_multi')
+            keyword = str(rec.get('keyword', 'client_print_multi'))
             keys = [('action',keyword),('res_model',res['model'])]
             value = 'ir.actions.report.xml,'+str(id)
-            replace = rec.get("replace",'') or True
+            replace = rec.get('replace', True)
             self.pool.get('ir.model.data').ir_set(cr, self.uid, 'action', keyword, res['name'], [res['model']], value, replace=replace, isobject=True, xml_id=xml_id)
         return False
 
@@ -303,7 +300,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         context = self.get_context(data_node, rec, {'ref': _ref(self, cr)})
         uid = self.get_uid(cr, self.uid, data_node, rec)
         _eval_xml(self,rec, self.pool, cr, uid, self.idref, context=context)
-        return False
+        return
 
     def _tag_wizard(self, cr, rec, data_node=None):
         string = rec.get("string",'').encode('utf8')
@@ -336,7 +333,6 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             value = 'ir.actions.wizard,'+str(id)
             replace = rec.get("replace",'') or True
             self.pool.get('ir.model.data').ir_set(cr, self.uid, 'action', keyword, string, [model], value, replace=replace, isobject=True, xml_id=xml_id)
-        return False
 
     def _tag_url(self, cr, rec, data_node=None):
         url = rec.get("string",'').encode('utf8')
@@ -356,7 +352,6 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             value = 'ir.actions.url,'+str(id)
             replace = rec.get("replace",'') or True
             self.pool.get('ir.model.data').ir_set(cr, self.uid, 'action', keyword, url, ["ir.actions.url"], value, replace=replace, isobject=True, xml_id=xml_id)
-        return False
 
     def _tag_act_window(self, cr, rec, data_node=None):
         name = rec.get('name','').encode('utf-8')
@@ -425,38 +420,37 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             replace = rec.get('replace','') or True
             self.pool.get('ir.model.data').ir_set(cr, self.uid, 'action', keyword, xml_id, [src_model], value, replace=replace, isobject=True, xml_id=xml_id)
         # TODO add remove ir.model.data
-        return False
 
     def _tag_ir_set(self, cr, rec, data_node=None):
-        if not self.mode=='init':
-            return False
+        if self.mode != 'init':
+            return
         res = {}
-        for field in [i for i in rec.getchildren() if (i.tag=="field")]:
+        for field in rec.findall('./field'):
             f_name = field.get("name",'').encode('utf-8')
             f_val = _eval_xml(self,field,self.pool, cr, self.uid, self.idref)
             res[f_name] = f_val
         self.pool.get('ir.model.data').ir_set(cr, self.uid, res['key'], res['key2'], res['name'], res['models'], res['value'], replace=res.get('replace',True), isobject=res.get('isobject', False), meta=res.get('meta',None))
-        return False
 
     def _tag_workflow(self, cr, rec, data_node=None):
         if self.isnoupdate(data_node) and self.mode != 'init':
             return
         model = str(rec.get('model',''))
         w_ref = rec.get('ref','')
-        if len(w_ref):
+        if w_ref:
             id = self.id_get(cr, model, w_ref)
         else:
-            assert rec.getchildren(), 'You must define a child node if you dont give a ref'
-            element_childs = [i for i in rec.getchildren()]
-            assert len(element_childs) == 1, 'Only one child node is accepted (%d given)' % len(rec.getchildren())
-            id = _eval_xml(self, element_childs[0], self.pool, cr, self.uid, self.idref)
+            number_children = len(rec)
+            assert number_children > 0,\
+                'You must define a child node if you dont give a ref'
+            assert number_children == 1,\
+                'Only one child node is accepted (%d given)' % number_children
+            id = _eval_xml(self, rec[0], self.pool, cr, self.uid, self.idref)
 
         uid = self.get_uid(cr, self.uid, data_node, rec)
         wf_service = netsvc.LocalService("workflow")
         wf_service.trg_validate(uid, model,
             id,
             str(rec.get('action','')), cr)
-        return False
 
     #
     # Support two types of notation:
@@ -496,7 +490,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             menu_parent_id = self.id_get(cr, 'ir.ui.menu', rec.get('parent',''))
             values = {'parent_id': menu_parent_id}
             if rec.get('name'):
-                values['name'] = rec.get('name','')
+                values['name'] = rec.get('name')
             try:
                 res = [ self.id_get(cr, 'ir.ui.menu', rec.get('id','')) ]
             except:
@@ -544,9 +538,9 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
                 if (not values.get('name', False)) and resw:
                     values['name'] = resw[0]
         if rec.get('sequence'):
-            values['sequence'] = int(rec.get('sequence',''))
+            values['sequence'] = int(rec.get('sequence'))
         if rec.get('icon'):
-            values['icon'] = str(rec.get('icon',''))
+            values['icon'] = str(rec.get('icon'))
 
         if rec.get('groups'):
             g_names = rec.get('groups','').split(',')
@@ -569,7 +563,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             self.idref[rec_id] = int(pid)
 
         if rec.get('action') and pid:
-            a_action = rec.get('action','').encode('utf8')
+            a_action = rec.get('action').encode('utf8')
             a_type = rec.get('type','').encode('utf8') or 'act_window'
             a_id = self.id_get(cr, 'ir.actions.%s' % a_type, a_action)
             action = "ir.actions.%s,%d" % (a_type, a_id)
@@ -589,7 +583,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         rec_id = rec.get("id",'').encode('ascii')
         self._test_xml_id(rec_id)
         rec_src = rec.get("search",'').encode('utf8')
-        rec_src_count = rec.get("count",'')
+        rec_src_count = rec.get("count")
 
         severity = rec.get("severity",'').encode('ascii') or netsvc.LOG_ERROR
 
@@ -599,12 +593,12 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         eval_dict = {'ref': _ref(self, cr)}
         context = self.get_context(data_node, rec, eval_dict)
         uid = self.get_uid(cr, self.uid, data_node, rec)
-        if len(rec_id):
+        if rec_id:
             ids = [self.id_get(cr, rec_model, rec_id)]
-        elif len(rec_src):
+        elif rec_src:
             q = eval(rec_src, eval_dict)
             ids = self.pool.get(rec_model).search(cr, uid, q, context=context)
-            if len(rec_src_count):
+            if rec_src_count:
                 count = int(rec_src_count)
                 if len(ids) != count:
                     self.assert_report.record_assertion(False, severity)
@@ -620,8 +614,8 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
                         raise Exception('Severe assertion failure')
                     return
 
-        assert ids != None, 'You must give either an id or a search criteria'
-
+        assert ids is not None,\
+            'You must give either an id or a search criteria'
         ref = _ref(self, cr)
         for id in ids:
             brrec =  model.browse(cr, uid, id, context)
@@ -634,7 +628,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             globals['floatEqual'] = self._assert_equals
             globals['ref'] = ref
             globals['_ref'] = ref
-            for test in [i for i in rec.getchildren() if (i.tag=="test")]:
+            for test in rec.findall('./test'):
                 f_expr = test.get("expr",'').encode('utf-8')
                 expected_value = _eval_xml(self, test, self.pool, cr, uid, self.idref, context=context) or True
                 expression_value = eval(f_expr, globals)
@@ -686,7 +680,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
                 # otherwise it is skipped
                 return None
         res = {}
-        for field in [i for i in rec.getchildren() if (i.tag == "field")]:
+        for field in rec.findall('./field'):
 #TODO: most of this code is duplicated above (in _eval_xml)...
             f_name = field.get("name",'').encode('utf-8')
             f_ref = field.get("ref",'').encode('ascii')
@@ -697,7 +691,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
             f_use = field.get("use",'').encode('ascii') or 'id'
             f_val = False
 
-            if len(f_search):
+            if f_search:
                 q = eval(f_search, self.idref)
                 field = []
                 assert f_model, 'Define an attribute model="..." in your .XML file !'
@@ -713,7 +707,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
                     # otherwise (we are probably in a many2one field),
                     # take the first element of the search
                     f_val = s[0][f_use]
-            elif len(f_ref):
+            elif f_ref:
                 if f_ref=="null":
                     f_val = False
                 else:
@@ -741,9 +735,7 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         result = self.pool.get('ir.model.data')._get_id(cr, self.uid, mod, id_str)
         return int(self.pool.get('ir.model.data').read(cr, self.uid, [result], ['res_id'])[0]['res_id'])
 
-    def parse(self, xmlstr):
-        de = etree.XML(xmlstr)
-
+    def parse(self, de):
         if not de.tag in ['terp', 'openerp']:
             self.logger.notifyChannel("init", netsvc.LOG_ERROR, "Mismatch xml format" )
             raise Exception( "Mismatch xml format: only terp or openerp as root tag" )
@@ -751,8 +743,8 @@ form: module.record_id""" % (xml_id,)
         if de.tag == 'terp':
             self.logger.notifyChannel("init", netsvc.LOG_WARNING, "The tag <terp/> is deprecated, use <openerp/>")
 
-        for n in [i for i in de.getchildren() if (i.tag=="data")]:
-            for rec in n.getchildren():
+        for n in de.findall('./data'):
+            for rec in n:
                     if rec.tag in self._tags:
                         try:
                             self._tags[rec.tag](self.cr, rec, n)
@@ -844,12 +836,9 @@ def convert_csv_import(cr, module, fname, csvcontent, idref=None, mode='init',
 # xml import/export
 #
 def convert_xml_import(cr, module, xmlfile, idref=None, mode='init', noupdate=False, report=None):
-    xmlstr = xmlfile.read()
-    xmlfile.seek(0)
-    relaxng_doc = etree.parse(file(os.path.join( config['root_path'], 'import_xml.rng' )))
-    relaxng = etree.RelaxNG(relaxng_doc)
-
     doc = etree.parse(xmlfile)
+    relaxng = etree.RelaxNG(
+        etree.parse(os.path.join(config['root_path'],'import_xml.rng' )))
     try:
         relaxng.assert_(doc)
     except Exception, e:
@@ -861,8 +850,7 @@ def convert_xml_import(cr, module, xmlfile, idref=None, mode='init', noupdate=Fa
     if idref is None:
         idref={}
     obj = xml_import(cr, module, idref, mode, report=report, noupdate=noupdate)
-    obj.parse(xmlstr)
-    del obj
+    obj.parse(doc.getroot())
     return True
 
 def convert_xml_export(res):
diff --git a/bin/tools/translate.py b/bin/tools/translate.py
index ca833dfee6e..1080b10eca3 100644
--- a/bin/tools/translate.py
+++ b/bin/tools/translate.py
@@ -343,9 +343,9 @@ def trans_export(lang, modules, buffer, format, dbname=None):
 
 def trans_parse_xsl(de):
     res = []
-    for n in [i for i in de.getchildren()]:
+    for n in de:
         if n.get("t"):
-            for m in [j for j in n.getchildren() if j.text]:
+            for m in [j for j in n if j.text]:
                 l = m.text.strip().replace('\n',' ')
                 if len(l):
                     res.append(l.encode("utf8"))
@@ -354,8 +354,8 @@ def trans_parse_xsl(de):
 
 def trans_parse_rml(de):
     res = []
-    for n in [i for i in de.getchildren()]:
-        for m in [j for j in n.getchildren() if j.text]:
+    for n in de:
+        for m in [j for j in n if j.text]:
             string_list = [s.replace('\n', ' ').strip() for s in re.split('\[\[.+?\]\]', m.text)]
             for s in string_list:
                 if s:
@@ -366,14 +366,10 @@ def trans_parse_rml(de):
 def trans_parse_view(de):
     res = []
     if de.get("string"):
-        s = de.get('string')
-        if s:
-            res.append(s.encode("utf8"))
+        res.append(de.get('string').encode("utf8"))
     if de.get("sum"):
-        s = de.get('sum')
-        if s:
-            res.append(s.encode("utf8"))
-    for n in [i for i in de.getchildren()]:
+        res.append(de.get('sum').encode("utf8"))
+    for n in de:
         res.extend(trans_parse_view(n))
     return res
 
diff --git a/bin/wizard/__init__.py b/bin/wizard/__init__.py
index 378f9ac4563..428a85537db 100644
--- a/bin/wizard/__init__.py
+++ b/bin/wizard/__init__.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class interface(netsvc.Service):
                 trans = translate(cr, self.wiz_name+','+state, 'wizard_view', lang, node.get('string').encode('utf8'))
                 if trans:
                     node.set('string', trans)
-            for n in node.getchildren():
+            for n in node:
                 self.translate_view(cr, n, state, lang)
 
     def execute_cr(self, cr, uid, data, state='init', context=None):