Mailman 3 April 2023 - docs

A suggestion for improving the documentation of chapter 10.9. Data Compression
by Guy Goldner 22 May '24

22 May '24

Hello dear Python gods :) I'm new at Python and was going over the documentation . This useful paragraph : https://docs.python.org/3.7/tutorial/stdlib.html#data-compression provides info for compressing text but IMHO some important additional info is needed, without which I expect nearly all users would get stuck just as I have. Moreover, while looking for a solution I noticed a lot of articles with outdated examples which no longer work - this confused me even more to the point I started suspecting something was amiss on my end... Anyhow, adding this info would do the trick : zlib works only with bytes and in Python 3.x strings are no longer bytes. Example : *>>> zlib.compress('this is a sample string which does not work in zlib because it requires bytes and not unicode')Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'>>>* Luckily Python has a very simple solution for this : encode to utf-8, compress, decode back to unicode like so : *>>> text = 'this is a sample string which does not work in zlib because it requires bytes and not unicode with chars like this »שלום '>>> encoded = text.encode()>>> text = 'this is a sample with unicode chars »שלום '>>> encoded = text.encode()>>> compressed = zlib.compress(encoded)>>> decompressed = zlib.decompress(compressed)>>> decoded = decompressed.decode()>>> len(text),len(encoded),len(compressed) #notice that compression of short strings can be larger than the original(42, 47, 54)>>> print(text,'\n',encoded,'\n',compressed)this is a sample with unicode chars »שלום b'this is a sample with unicode chars \xc2\xbb\xd7\xa9\xd7\x9c\xd7\x95\xd7\x9d ' b'x\x9c+\xc9\xc8,V\x00\xa2D\x85\xe2\xc4\xdc\x82\x9cT\x85\xf2\xcc\x92\x0c\x85\xd2\xbc\xcc\xe4\xfc\x94T\x85\xe4\x8c\xc4\xa2b\x85C\xbb\xaf\xaf\xbc>\xe7\xfa\xd4\xebs\x15\x00\xb2K\x14|'>>> text == decodedTrue* Thank you ! You are doing a great thing ! B.R., Guy Goldner

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bug reports for the documentation (mainly the tutorial)
by Stephan Stiller 30 Oct '23

30 Oct '23

Dear list, I recently read through the entire Python tutorial and FAQ (v3.11.2) and took notes on things that I believe to be errata. Here is my list: 1. https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/controlflow.html I think it would be better if there were a pastable space after "144 233 377 610 987 1597" (and in some other places in the tutorial). My guess is that the present formatting has to do with the way these pages are generated. 2. https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#dict.get I think "get(key[, default=None])" would be better than "change get(key[, default]). 3. https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#mapping-types-dict It seems that "sorted(d)" is missing from the documentation, at least on this page. The output (sorted list of all keys) is not predictable for a beginner, so it might be better to be explicit. 4. https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/modules.html About the instruction for loading "fibo" ("Now enter the Python interpreter and import this module with the following command:"): Many beginners will be using IDLE. If on Windows, one needs to import the file like this: import sys sys.path.append(r'C:\path_to_directory_with_fibo') import fibo Adding a remark like this will help the reader. 5. https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/inputoutput.html The '{:-9} YES votes {:2.2%}'.format(yes_votes, percentage) example will slow a careful first-time reader down. I suggest explaining the two expressions in curly braces briefly on the side, in one sentence each. 6. https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/inputoutput.html#old-string-formatting I would replace the second sentence by something like the following For the expression "format % values", "%" conversion specifications in "format" are replaced with zero or more elements of "values". or something similar adapted from here: https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#old-string-formatting 7. https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#open I strongly suggest replacing "buffering=- 1" by "buffering= -1". I suspect this might be a systematic bug generated by a formatter. Similarly, here https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str.split I would replace "str.split(sep=None, maxsplit=- 1)" by "str.split(sep=None, maxsplit= -1)". In both cases, deleting the space entirely is an alternative option. 8. https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/errors.html#exceptions If I understand correctly, I believe it will be clearer if "and execution stops with a message as shown above" is shortened to simply "and execution stops". 9. https://docs.python.org/3/faq/extending.html#how-do-i-extract-c-values-from… "PyListSize()" should probably read "PyList_Size()". General comments: I believe that a HOWTO on "object-oriented programming" best practices in Python would be useful. Perhaps there is one, but I couldn't find it. Best regards, Stephan Stiller

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https://docs.python.org/3/library/timeit.html
by Goldberg, Arthur P 30 Oct '23

30 Oct '23

Hello In this section This is a convenience function that calls timeit()<https://docs.python.org/3/library/timeit.html#timeit.Timer.timeit> repeatedly so that the total time >= 0.2 second, returning the eventual (number of loops, time taken for that number of loops). It calls timeit()<https://docs.python.org/3/library/timeit.html#timeit.Timer.timeit> with increasing numbers from the sequence 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, … until the time taken is at least 0.2 second. s/second/seconds/ two times. “seconds” is properly plural elsewhere on the page. Thanks A -- Arthur Goldberg, PhD Mount Sinai Data Warehouse<https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/msdw/> Scientific Computing and Data<https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/minervalab/scientific-computing-and-data> Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology Mount Sinai School of Medicine Arthur.Goldberg(a)mssm.edu<mailto:Arthur.Goldberg@mssm.edu> 646 526 5020 Zoom<https://mssm.zoom.us/my/arthur.goldberg?pwd=LzByMGJOZC9wM3A2aHV6OU94eUtSQT09>

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Documentation?
by Mark Reese 15 Apr '23

15 Apr '23

Hello, I was consulting the documentation section of the python site (for example https://docs.python.org/release/3.11.1/download.html) and when attempting to download the documentation for any file type of any version, it turns out none are available. Where can I get the documentation for the versions I seek. If you do not intend to host documentation on the site, there's no point in having such a section in the first place; it's important you remove it as it misleads visitors. Regards, - Mark

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bug in datetime.datetime.now().microsecond
by August Birk 14 Apr '23

14 Apr '23

I have found what seems to be a little bug in the datetime package in Python 3.9.13. I was working with `datetime.datetime.now().microsecond`, which should return the microsecond of the current time - it does so, but the value is returned as an integer. This means that leading zeros of the value will be cropped, and the isolated value of the `.microsecond` will be flawed. This is code in use. Here the full timestamp from `datetime.datetime.now().microsecond` is printed together with the re-combined timestamp from `datetime.datetime.now().year`, `.month`, `.day`, `.hour`, `.minute`, `.second` and `.microsecond`: ``` max_iter = 10 i = 0 temp_sec = None while True: time_now = datetime.datetime.now() sec = time_now.second if sec % 1 == 0 and sec != temp_sec: i += 1 print(time_now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f")) print(time_now.year, time_now.month, time_now.day, '', (str(time_now.hour)+':'+str(time_now.minute)+ ':'+str(time_now.second)+'.' +str(time_now.microsecond)) ) print() temp_sec = sec if i > max_iter: break time.sleep(0.01) ``` ``` Output: >>> 2023-04-14 12:21:43.004813 >>> 2023 4 14 12:21:43.4813 ... ``` This seems like a bug to me. Best regards - August Birk

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Suggestion for the "Python Tutorial, Release 3.11.3"
by Manganella, Luca 13 Apr '23

13 Apr '23

ERRATA-CORRIGE for the "Python Tutorial, Release 3.11.3" In the section "5.1 More on Lists" ERRATA: --- >>> fruits.index('banana') 3 >>> fruits.index('banana', 4) # Find next banana starting at position 4 6 --- CORRIGE: --- >>> fruits.index('banana') # Find the index of the first 'banana'. 3 >>> fruits.index('banana', 4) # Find the index of the next 'banana' starting at position 4. 6 --- [cid:image001.gif@01D96E28.A4B039A0]Luca Manganella| Capgemini Italia [cid:image002.jpg@01D96E28.A4B039A0] | Roma Consultant | CSD AD Professional Services - Consultant Capgemini "Italy" | Roma www.capgemini.com<http://www.capgemini.com/> Cell. Phone: +39 3286051057 Via di Torre Spaccata, 140 - 00173 ROMA [Outlook-eixymq2w] This message contains information that may be privileged or confidential and is the property of the Capgemini Group. It is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy, disseminate, distribute, or use this message or any part thereof. If you receive this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies of this message.

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Weak Type Ability for Python
by Ali Mohseni Roodbari 12 Apr '23

12 Apr '23

Hi, Please make this command for Python (if possible): >>> x=1 >>> y='a' >>> wprint (x+y) >>> 1a In fact make a new type of print command which can print strings and integers. Sincerely yours, Ali.

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Getting started
by Zac Belado 05 Apr '23

05 Apr '23

Hi all! I am just trying to get my bearings in the documentation and was wondering if there was more that I needed to install other than the files in the Github repo? I was curious as it doesn't seem as if the Github repo has all of the css and js files that are in the built documentation. Are there addition Sphinx templates or does the Docs theme not use any? Thanks

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Itty-bitty-bug in Py 3.11 docs
by John Hallyburton 04 Apr '23

04 Apr '23

|:=| Assignment expression In the web documentation at the end of the table in 6.17. "Operator precedence <https://docs.python.org/3/reference/expressions.html?highlight=operator%20p…>" is the Assignment expression. What is that colon doing there? I can't type "x := 23" to Python, it gives me "SyntaxError: invalid syntax" as you would expect. None of the other operators have a colon introducer, so why with '='? Thanks, John Hallyburton (Python fan for many a yarn)

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a bug in the docs
by Baba Boota 03 Apr '23

03 Apr '23

the "s" should also be the part of linked text https://docs.python.org/3/library/dataclasses.html#module-dataclasses [image.png]

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