[Python-3000] io library/PEP 3116 bits

[Greg Ewing]

skip at pobox.com wrote:
> The other thing I wanted to comment on is the default value for n in the
> various read methods.  In some places it's -1 (why not zero? *),

Maybe because reading 0 bytes already has a well-defined
(if not particularly useful) meaning?

You probably wouldn't use it explicitly, but it could
arise as the result of a calculation, and it would then
need to be special-cased if it had a reserved meaning.

> (*) A few days ago at work I saw someone check in a piece of code with
> 
>     f.read(-1)

That does look strange. Maybe the result of someone
reading the docs and failing to notice that there was
an easier spelling.

--
Greg