That is because &#39;errno&#39; is a property on the exception object called &#39;e&#39;, not the other way around.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 7:12 AM, Michael Lewis <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:mjolewis@gmail.com">mjolewis@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div class="h5">On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 3:51 PM, Colton Myers <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:colton.myers@gmail.com" target="_blank">colton.myers@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">

<div>
                <blockquote type="cite" style="border-left-style:solid;border-width:1px;margin-left:0px;padding-left:10px"><span><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div>I am having a bit of trouble understanding what is going on below. What does the &quot;e&quot; in &quot;except OSError, e:&quot; do? </div>


<div>Any other help you can provide regarding errno would be extremely appreciated. I&#39;ve done help() and dir() on it, but I am not really understanding what&#39;s going on with &quot;e.errno != errno.EEXIST:&quot;</div>


</div></div></div></span></blockquote></div><div>Basically, that `except` block is catching all exceptions of type OSError, and storing the exception in variable `e`.  This variable does not have to be called `e`, but that&#39;s the most commonly-used variable name.</div>


<div><br></div><div>Once you have the exception stored (in this case in the variable `e`), you can then see what type of exception, using the `errno` property of the exception.  You can read about the different types here:</div>


<div><br></div><div><a href="http://docs.python.org/library/errno.html" target="_blank">http://docs.python.org/library/errno.html</a></div><div><blockquote type="cite" style="border-left-style:solid;border-width:1px;margin-left:0px;padding-left:10px">


<span><div><div><div dir="ltr">

<div><div><pre style="padding-right:5px;padding-left:5px;border-bottom-width:0px;max-height:600px;padding-top:5px;text-align:left;width:auto;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:10px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:5px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:18px;font-size:14px;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Consolas,Menlo,Monaco,&#39;Lucida Console&#39;,&#39;Liberation Mono&#39;,&#39;DejaVu Sans Mono&#39;,&#39;Bitstream Vera Sans Mono&#39;,&#39;Courier New&#39;,monospace,serif;margin-top:0px;border-left-width:0px">
<pre style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px;padding-top:5px;padding-right:5px;padding-bottom:5px;padding-left:5px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:Consolas,Menlo,Monaco,&#39;Lucida Console&#39;,&#39;Liberation Mono&#39;,&#39;DejaVu Sans Mono&#39;,&#39;Bitstream Vera Sans Mono&#39;,&#39;Courier New&#39;,monospace,serif;width:auto;max-height:600px">
<code style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:rgb(238,238,238);font-family:Consolas,Menlo,Monaco,&#39;Lucida Console&#39;,&#39;Liberation Mono&#39;,&#39;DejaVu Sans Mono&#39;,&#39;Bitstream Vera Sans Mono&#39;,&#39;Courier New&#39;,monospace,serif"><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,139)">import</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"> os</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">,</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"> errno
</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,139)">try</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">:</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">
    os</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">.</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">makedirs</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">(</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(128,0,0)">&#39;a/b/c&#39;</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">)</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">
</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,139)">except</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"> </span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(43,145,175)">OSError</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">,</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"> e</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">:</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">
    </span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,139)">if</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"> e</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">.</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">errno </span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">!=</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent"> errno</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">.</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">EEXIST</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">:</span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent">
        </span><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,139)">raise</span></code></pre>


</pre></div></div></div></div></div></span></blockquote></div><div>In this particular section, it&#39;s catching any OSError, and then if it turns out that the error was &quot;File Exists&quot;, it is raising that exception again, to be either caught by an encapsulating try block, or which will bring the program to a halt with an exception shown by the interpreter.</div>


<div><br></div><div>Is that the behavior you are going for?  Any more confusion?</div></blockquote></div></div><div><br>Why wouldn&#39;t it be errno.e instead of e.errno? <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">


<div><br></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div>--</div><div>Colton Myers</div><div><br>
                </div>
            </font></span></blockquote></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div>Michael J. Lewis</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="mailto:mjolewis@gmail.com" target="_blank">mjolewis@gmail.com</a> </div>
<div><a href="tel:415.815.7257" value="+14158157257" target="_blank">415.815.7257</a></div></div><br>
</font></span></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Tutor maillist  -  <a href="mailto:Tutor@python.org">Tutor@python.org</a><br>
To unsubscribe or change subscription options:<br>
<a href="http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor" target="_blank">http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Regards,<br>Sithembewena Lloyd Dube<br>