[Python-Dev] Re: [Python-checkins] CVS: python/dist/src/Doc/lib libos.tex,1.38,1.39

[Guido van Rossum]

> > ! \begin{funcdesc}{utime}{path, times}
> > ! Set the access and modified times of the file specified by \var{path}.
> > ! If \var{times} is \code{None}, then the file's access and modified
> > ! times are set to the current time.  Otherwise, \var{times} must be a
> > ! 2-tuple of numbers, of the form \var{(atime, mtime)} which is used to
> > ! set the access and modified times, respectively.
> >   Availability: Macintosh, \UNIX{}, Windows.
> >   \end{funcdesc}
> 
> I may have missed something, but I haven't seen a patch to the WinXX
> and MacOS implementation of the 'utime' function.  So either the
> documentation should explicitly point out, that the new additional
> signature is only available on Unices or even better it should be
> implemented on all platforms so that programmers intending to write
> portable Python have not to worry about this.

Actually, it works on WinXX (tested on 98).  The utime()
implementation there is the same file as on Unix, so the patch fixed
both platforms.  The MS C library only seems to set the mtime, but
that's okay.

On Mac, I hope that the utime() function in GUSI 2 does this, in which
case Jack Jansen needs to copy Barry's patch.

> I suggest an additional note saying that this signature has been
> added in Python 1.6.  There used to be several such notes all over
> the documentation saying for example: "New in version 1.5.2." which
> I found very useful in the past!

Thanks, you're right!

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)