[Python-checkins] r56695 - doctools/trunk/Doc-26/library/index.rst

[mark.summerfield]

Author: mark.summerfield
Date: Fri Aug  3 11:09:18 2007
New Revision: 56695

Modified:
   doctools/trunk/Doc-26/library/index.rst
Log:
Made the intro text more positive in tone.
Noted that Win & Mac installers normally include the whole library
but that Unix users may need to add packages.
Added a link to pypy.



Modified: doctools/trunk/Doc-26/library/index.rst
==============================================================================
--- doctools/trunk/Doc-26/library/index.rst	(original)
+++ doctools/trunk/Doc-26/library/index.rst	Fri Aug  3 11:09:18 2007
@@ -1,28 +1,38 @@
 .. _library-index:
 
 ###############################
-  The Python standard library
+  The Python Standard Library
 ###############################
 
 :Release: |version|
 :Date: |today|
 
-While :ref:`reference-index` describes the exact syntax and semantics of the
-language, it does not describe the standard library that is distributed with the
-language, and which greatly enhances its immediate usability. This library
-contains built-in modules (written in C) that provide access to system
-functionality such as file I/O that would otherwise be inaccessible to Python
-programmers, as well as modules written in Python that provide standardized
-solutions for many problems that occur in everyday programming. Some of these
-modules are explicitly designed to encourage and enhance the portability of
-Python programs.
-
-This library reference manual documents Python's standard library, as well as
-many optional library modules (which may or may not be available, depending on
-whether the underlying platform supports them and on the configuration choices
-made at compile time). It also documents the standard types of the language and
-its built-in functions and exceptions, many of which are not or incompletely
-documented in the Reference Manual.
+While the :ref:`reference-index` describes the exact syntax and
+semantics of the Python language, this library reference manual
+describes the standard library that is distributed with Python. It also
+describes some of the optional components that are commonly included
+in Python distributions.
+
+Python's standard library is very extensive, offering a wide range of
+facilities as indicated by the long table of contents listed below. The
+library contains built-in modules (written in C) that provide access to
+system functionality such as file I/O that would otherwise be
+inaccessible to Python programmers, as well as modules written in Python
+that provide standardized solutions for many problems that occur in
+everyday programming. Some of these modules are explicitly designed to
+encourage and enhance the portability of Python programs by abstracting
+away platform-specifics into platform-neutral APIs.
+
+The Python installers for the Windows and Mac platforms usually include
+the entire standard library and often also include many additional
+components. For Unix-like operating systems Python is normally provided
+as a collection of packages, so it may be necessary to use the packaging
+tools provided with the operating system to obtain some or all of the
+optional components.
+
+In addition to the standard library, there is a growing collection of
+over 2500 additional components available from the `Python Package Index
+<http://pypi.python.org/pypi>`_.
 
 
 .. toctree::