On Sep 16, 2013, at 1:05 PM, Antoine Pitrou wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:48:54 -0400 Brett Cannon
wrote: So I would like to propose the following API change:
- Path.stat() (and stat-accessing methods such as get_mtime()...) returns an uncached stat object by default
- Path.cache_stat() can be called to return the stat() *and* cache it for future use, such that any future call to stat(), cache_stat() or a stat-accessing function reuses that cached stat
In other words, only if you use cache_stat() at least once is the stat() value cached and reused by the Path object. (also, it's a per-Path decision)
Any reason why stat() can't get a keyword-only cached=True argument instead? Or have stat() never cache() but stat_cache() always so that people can choose if they want fresh or cached based on API and not whether some library happened to make a decision for them?
1. Because you also want the helper functions (get_mtime(), etc.) to cache the value too. It's not only about stat().
With the proposed rich stat object the convenience methods living on Path wouldn't result in much added convenience: p.is_dir() vs p.stat().is_dir() Why not move these methods from Path to a rich stat obj and not cache stat results at all? It's easy enough for users to cache them themselves and much more explicit. -- Philip Jenvey