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Almost right. The docs for file objects specifically imply that a negative arg to readline() or a zero arg to readlines() is the same as no args; your defaults are sys.maxint so an explicit -1 or 0 won't do the right thing. (This is important for wrapper classes that want to

Which docs say this? I looked at Doc/lib/libstdtypes.tex to get the semantics:

\begin{methoddesc}[file]{readline}{\optional{size}} ... If the \var{size} argument is present and non-negative, it is a maximum byte count (including the trailing newline) and an incomplete line may be returned. ... \end{methoddesc}

I read this that any negative argument has the same effect as an absent argument. I suggested -1 as a typical negative number. The doc could be more explicit though.

\begin{methoddesc}[file]{readlines}{\optional{sizehint}} ... If the optional \var{sizehint} argument is present, instead of reading up to \EOF{}, whole lines totalling approximately \var{sizehint} bytes (possibly after rounding up to an internal buffer size) are read. \end{methoddesc}

Here you're right -- I got the 0 from the code. It should be documented.

Neither text mentions the special cases for -1 and 0 in each function. Fixing the patch to get this right is trivial, but I think the docs need to be updated to mention this.

Agreed. --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.pythonlabs.com/~guido/)

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Almost right. The docs for file objects specifically imply that a negative arg to readline() or a zero arg to readlines() is the same as no args; your defaults are sys.maxint so an explicit -1 or 0 won't do the right thing. (This is important for wrapper classes that want to

Which docs say this? I looked at Doc/lib/libstdtypes.tex to get the semantics:

\begin{methoddesc}[file]{readline}{\optional{size}} ... If the \var{size} argument is present and non-negative, it is a maximum byte count (including the trailing newline) and an incomplete line may be returned. ... \end{methoddesc}

I read this that any negative argument has the same effect as an absent argument. I suggested -1 as a typical negative number. The doc could be more explicit though.

\begin{methoddesc}[file]{readlines}{\optional{sizehint}} ... If the optional \var{sizehint} argument is present, instead of reading up to \EOF{}, whole lines totalling approximately \var{sizehint} bytes (possibly after rounding up to an internal buffer size) are read. \end{methoddesc}

Here you're right -- I got the 0 from the code. It should be documented.

Neither text mentions the special cases for -1 and 0 in each function. Fixing the patch to get this right is trivial, but I think the docs need to be updated to mention this.

Agreed. --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.pythonlabs.com/~guido/)