Mailman 3 October 2017 - docs

[issue21352] improve indexing
by bob gailer 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

New submission from bob gailer: Inconsistencies / confusion with documentation Index Tab. Example (line numbers added for comments that follow): 1 max 2 built-in function 3 max (datetime.date attribute) 4 (datetime.datetime attribute) 5 (datetime.time attribute) 6 max() built-in function 7 (decimal.Context method) 8 (decimal.Decimal method) 9 (in module audioloop) The following all lead to confusion and frustration: Having 3 rows (1, 3, 6)that begin with max. Having an entry (1) that does nothing when double-clicked. double-clicking (2) takes us to a reference rather than a definition. RECOMMENDATION: change to: max() built-in function (sequence operation) (decimal.Context method) (decimal.Decimal method) max (datetime.date attribute) (datetime.datetime attribute) (datetime.time attribute) where double-clicking the first line goes to the max() definition in 2. Built-in Functions These comments apply, with a number of variations, to most built-in functions index entries. ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation messages: 217170 nosy: bgailer, docs@python priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: improve indexing type: enhancement versions: Python 2.7, Python 3.1, Python 3.2, Python 3.3, Python 3.4, Python 3.5 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue21352> _______________________________________

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[issue19023] ctypes docs: Unimplemented and undocumented features
by Sye van der Veen 20 Apr '21

20 Apr '21

New submission from Sye van der Veen: In the ctypes documentation, there's mention of a BigEndianUnion/LittleEndianUnion that isn't actually implemented, and the "Arrays and pointers" section just reads "Not yet written". The attached patch adds the (Big|Little)EndianUnion classes (with tests), finishes the Array/_Pointer class docs (and adds missing cases to the tests), and makes some stylistic improvements to docs. The patch was made against default, but it's quite likely it could be back-ported all the way to Python 3.1. ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation, Tests, ctypes hgrepos: 209 messages: 197764 nosy: docs@python, syeberman priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: ctypes docs: Unimplemented and undocumented features type: enhancement _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue19023> _______________________________________

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[issue22128] patch: steer people away from codecs.open
by Frank van Dijk 16 Apr '21

16 Apr '21

New submission from Frank van Dijk: stackoverflow.com has a zillion answers recommending the use of codecs.open() as a unicode capable drop in replacement for open(). This probably means that there is still a lot of code being written that uses codecs.open(). That's bad thing because of codecs.open()'s lack of newline conversion. A lot of that code will - have compatibility issues when it is moved between unix and windows - silently break text files on windows, leading to issues further downstream (confusing other tools, messing up revision control histories) The problem has been fixed with io.open() in 2.x and open() in 3.x. Unfortunately the 2.7 unicode HOWTO still recommends the use of codecs.open(). The 2.7 and the 3.x documentation of codecs.open() doesn't refer the reader to better alternatives. The attached patches fix that. The only downside I see is that newly written code that uses the better alternatives would be incompatible with 2.5 and older. However croaking on a small minority of systems is better than silently disrupting workflows, causing platform incompatibilities, and inviting flaky workarounds. The 2.7 patch makes the unicode HOWTO recommend io.open() instead of codecs.open(). Both patches change the codecs.open() documentation to refer to io.open() or (on 3.x) open(). Additionally I removed the "data loss" explanation from codecs.open()'s note about its lack of newline conversion. It is not particularly helpful information and it is not entirely correct (data loss could also have been avoided by doing newline conversion before encoding and after decoding) ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation files: codecsopen2.patch keywords: patch messages: 224632 nosy: Frank.van.Dijk, docs@python priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: patch: steer people away from codecs.open type: behavior versions: Python 2.7, Python 3.4, Python 3.5 Added file: http://bugs.python.org/file36234/codecsopen2.patch _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue22128> _______________________________________

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[issue28197] range.index mismatch with documentation
by Vedran Čačić 14 Apr '21

14 Apr '21

New submission from Vedran Čačić: Look at this: >>> from collections.abc import Sequence >>> help(Sequence.index) index(self, value, start=0, stop=None) S.index(value, [start, [stop]]) -> integer -- return first index of value. Raises ValueError if the value is not present. >>> issubclass(range, Sequence) True >>> help(range.index) index(...) rangeobject.index(value, [start, [stop]]) -> integer -- return index of value. Raise ValueError if the value is not present. So far, so good. But: >>> range(9).index(2, 1, 5) TypeError: index() takes exactly one argument (3 given) Of course it's not essential, but the docs shouldn't lie. And if range _is_ a Sequence, then it should have the complete interface of a Sequence. Including start and end arguments for .index: they are optional from the point of call, not from the point of implementation. :-) ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation, Library (Lib) messages: 276908 nosy: docs@python, veky priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: range.index mismatch with documentation type: behavior versions: Python 3.5, Python 3.6 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue28197> _______________________________________

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[issue20364] Rename & explain sqlite3.Cursor.execute 'parameters' param
by Terry J. Reedy 14 Apr '21

14 Apr '21

New submission from Terry J. Reedy: "execute(sql[, parameters]) Executes an SQL statement. The SQL statement may be parametrized (i. e. placeholders instead of SQL literals). The sqlite3 module supports two kinds of placeholders: question marks (qmark style) and named placeholders (named style)." Experimental facts based on experiments with the code example in the doc, using 3.4.b2: 'parameters' is a single subscriptable collection parameter, sequence or dict, that might be called seq_dict. It is positional only, so whatever name is used is a dummy. Only one placeholder style can be used in a given SQL statement string. If question marks are used, seq_dict must be a sequence. If names are used, seq_dict can be either a sequence or dict or subclass thereof. A UserDict is treated as a sequence and raises KeyError(0). Possible text that encompasses the above, replacing the last sentence: "A statement may use one of two kinds of placeholders: question marks (qmark style) or named placeholders (named style). For qmark style, seq_dict must be a sequence. For named style, it can be either a sequence or dict instance. Len(seq_dict) must match the number of placeholders." After cleaning up the test file, I will verify on 2.7 and upload. ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation, Library (Lib) messages: 208908 nosy: docs@python, terry.reedy priority: normal severity: normal stage: patch review status: open title: Rename & explain sqlite3.Cursor.execute 'parameters' param type: behavior versions: Python 2.7, Python 3.3, Python 3.4 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue20364> _______________________________________

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[issue21297] skipinitialspace in the csv module only skips spaces, not "whitespace" in general
by Daniel Andersson 25 Mar '21

25 Mar '21

New submission from Daniel Andersson: Regarding the `skipinitialspace` parameter to the different CSV reader dialects in the `csv` module, the official documentation asserts: When True, whitespace immediately following the delimiter is ignored. and the `help(csv)` style module documentation says: * skipinitialspace - specifies how to interpret whitespace which immediately follows a delimiter. It defaults to False, which means that whitespace immediately following a delimiter is part of the following field. "Whitespace" is a bit too general in both cases (at least a red herring in the second case), since it only skips spaces and not e.g. tabs [1]. In `Modules/_csv.c`, it more correctly describes the parameter. At line 81: int skipinitialspace; /* ignore spaces following delimiter? */ and the actual implementation at line 638: else if (c == ' ' && dialect->skipinitialspace) /* ignore space at start of field */ ; No-one will probably assume that the whole UTF-8 spectrum of "whitespace" is skipped, but at least I initially assumed that the tab character was included. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitespace_character ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation, Library (Lib) messages: 216780 nosy: Daniel.Andersson, docs@python priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: skipinitialspace in the csv module only skips spaces, not "whitespace" in general type: behavior versions: Python 2.7, Python 3.1, Python 3.2, Python 3.3, Python 3.4, Python 3.5 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue21297> _______________________________________

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[issue14189] Documentation for some C APIs is missing clear specification of the type of reference they return
by Baruch Sterin 21 Mar '21

21 Mar '21

New submission from Baruch Sterin <python(a)bsterin.com>: In addition to the description text, most C API functions have a one-line, emphasized specification whether they return a new or a borrowed reference. (e.g. 'Return value: New reference.'). The following API functions are missing that. Some of them, like PyMemoryView_FromBuffer(), have descriptions that are clear, but it would still be nice to have an unambiguous statement like most other API functions have. The list has been generated automatically, so it might contain some errors. Doc/c-api/arg.rst: Py_VaBuildValue Doc/c-api/buffer.rst: PyMemoryView_FromBuffer Doc/c-api/buffer.rst: PyMemoryView_FromObject Doc/c-api/buffer.rst: PyMemoryView_GetContiguous Doc/c-api/bytearray.rst: PyByteArray_Concat Doc/c-api/bytearray.rst: PyByteArray_FromObject Doc/c-api/bytearray.rst: PyByteArray_FromStringAndSize Doc/c-api/code.rst: PyCode_New Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_BackslashReplaceErrors Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_Decode Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_Decoder Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_Encode Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_Encoder Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_IgnoreErrors Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_IncrementalDecoder Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_IncrementalEncoder Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_LookupError Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_ReplaceErrors Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_StreamReader Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_StreamWriter Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_StrictErrors Doc/c-api/codec.rst: PyCodec_XMLCharRefReplaceErrors Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst: PyUnicodeDecodeError_Create Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst: PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetEncoding Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst: PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetObject Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst: PyUnicodeDecodeError_GetReason Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst: PyUnicodeEncodeError_Create Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst: PyUnicodeTranslateError_Create Doc/c-api/float.rst: PyFloat_GetInfo Doc/c-api/import.rst: PyImport_GetImporter Doc/c-api/import.rst: PyImport_ImportModuleNoBlock Doc/c-api/import.rst: _PyImport_FindExtension Doc/c-api/import.rst: _PyImport_FixupExtension Doc/c-api/init.rst: PyEval_GetCallStats Doc/c-api/int.rst: PyInt_FromSize_t Doc/c-api/long.rst: PyLong_FromSize_t Doc/c-api/long.rst: PyLong_FromSsize_t Doc/c-api/number.rst: PyNumber_Index Doc/c-api/number.rst: PyNumber_ToBase Doc/c-api/object.rst: PyObject_Bytes Doc/c-api/object.rst: PyObject_GenericGetAttr Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_AsUTF32String Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_DecodeMBCSStateful Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32 Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_DecodeUTF32Stateful Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_DecodeUTF7 Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_DecodeUTF7Stateful Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_EncodeUTF32 Doc/c-api/unicode.rst: PyUnicode_EncodeUTF7 Doc/c-api/veryhigh.rst: PyEval_EvalCodeEx Doc/c-api/veryhigh.rst: PyEval_EvalFrame Doc/c-api/veryhigh.rst: PyEval_EvalFrameEx ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation messages: 154877 nosy: baruch.sterin, docs@python priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: Documentation for some C APIs is missing clear specification of the type of reference they return type: behavior versions: Python 2.7 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue14189> _______________________________________

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[issue29688] Document Path.absolute
by Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard 17 Mar '21

17 Mar '21

New submission from Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard: Method absolute of Path objects lacked documentation, proposed PR adds relevant method to docs. ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation messages: 288767 nosy: Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard, docs@python priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: Document Path.absolute versions: Python 3.5, Python 3.6, Python 3.7 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue29688> _______________________________________

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[issue15533] subprocess.Popen(cwd) documentation
by Chris Jerdonek 17 Mar '21

17 Mar '21

New submission from Chris Jerdonek: The sentence describing Popen()'s cwd argument in the subprocess documentation seems reversed to me: http://docs.python.org/dev/library/subprocess.html#subprocess.Popen It says, "If cwd is not None, the child’s current directory will be changed to cwd before it is executed. Note that this directory is not considered when searching the executable, so you can’t specify the program’s path relative to cwd." However, when cwd is not None, it seems like you *must* specify the program's path relative to cwd. For example, when running a script containing the following using `./python.exe` from a source checkout-- p = Popen(['./python.exe', '-V'], stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE, cwd='temp') you get an: "OSError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory." In contrast, when you *do* specify the program's path relative to cwd, it works-- p = Popen(['../python.exe', '-V'], stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE, cwd='temp') Issue 6374 seems to have made the same point in its second bullet, but the issue was closed without addressing that part of it. ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation keywords: easy messages: 167194 nosy: cjerdonek, docs@python priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: subprocess.Popen(cwd) documentation versions: Python 2.7, Python 3.3 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue15533> _______________________________________

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[issue31665] Edit "Setting [windows] environmental variables"
by Terry J. Reedy 16 Mar '21

16 Mar '21

New submission from Terry J. Reedy <tjreedy(a)udel.edu>: Python Setup and Usage, 3.3.1. Excursus: Setting environment variables https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html#excursus-setting-environment-v… The word 'excursus' is so rare and archaic that this is my first encounter with it. Could we drop it? The last paragraph starts with "To permanently modify the default environment variables, click Start and search for ‘edit environment variables’,". This part is fine on Windows 10 as it brings up "Edit the system environment variables" and "Edit environmental variables for your account". Both take one to an Environmental variables dialog. The former requires than one be or become an admin user (via UAC dialog). The paragraph continues "or open System properties, Advanced system settings and click the Environment Variables button. In this dialog, you can add or modify User and System variables. To change System variables, you need non-restricted access to your machine (i.e. Administrator rights)." On Windows 10, at least, this is confusing or wrong. Control Panel has 'System' linked to the System dialog. This has 'Advanced systems settings' linked to System Properties, but one only get there by being or becoming (via UAC) an admin user. This has the Environmental Properties button mentioned above. It opens Environmental Variables for the admin user you are or are acting as. This route cannot change EVs for non-admin users. I have the impression that this has changed since Win 7. ---------- assignee: docs@python components: Documentation, Windows messages: 303560 nosy: docs@python, paul.moore, steve.dower, terry.reedy, tim.golden, zach.ware priority: normal severity: normal stage: needs patch status: open title: Edit "Setting [windows] environmental variables" type: behavior versions: Python 3.6, Python 3.7 _______________________________________ Python tracker <report(a)bugs.python.org> <https://bugs.python.org/issue31665> _______________________________________

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