[Python-bugs-list] [ python-Bugs-737291 ] os.symlink docstring is ambiguous.

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Tue, 10 Jun 2003 17:20:31 -0700


Bugs item #737291, was opened at 2003-05-13 13:53
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by bcannon
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Category: None
Group: None
>Status: Closed
Resolution: None
Priority: 5
Submitted By: Jeremy Fincher (jemfinch)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: os.symlink docstring is ambiguous.

Initial Comment:
>>> print os.symlink.__doc__
symlink(src, dst)

Create a symbolic link.

I find that to be ambiguous -- personally, when I read
it, I picture the symlink as the source pointing to the
destination, but apparently Python considers the
symlink to be the "destination" file pointing at the
source (the file).

I propose simply changing "src" in the docstring to be
"filename" and "dst" in the docstring to be "linkname."
 That would cut out the ambiguity.

(It's unfortunate, btw, that os.symlink takes its
arguments in the opposite order of the UNIX ln command.)

Jeremy

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>Comment By: Brett Cannon (bcannon)
Date: 2003-06-10 17:20

Message:
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Made the docstring match the official docs: "Create a symbolic 
link pointing to src named dst."  Applied as revision 2.300  for 
2.3 and revision 2.216.4.11 for the 2.2 branch.

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Comment By: Jeremy Fincher (jemfinch)
Date: 2003-05-13 14:13

Message:
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user_id=99508

(ignore that last comment...brain fart...)

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