[Python-ideas] Extend the os.stat() result objects with methods like isfile() and isdir()

[Christian Heimes]

Am 03.05.2013 03:56, schrieb MRAB:
> It wouldn't be """s.file_type=='file'""", but """'file' in s.file_type""".
> 
> And I agree about 'reg'.
> 
>> But calling it 'file' is confusing to everyone who _does_ know stat.
>> Anything you can call stat on is a file.
>>
> ...even if os.path.isfile(...) says it isn't.
> 
>> And I don't know of a good answer here.
>>
> Maybe "file_type" is the wrong name for it.

It's the POSIX nomenclature and the Plan 9 concept "everything is a
file". POSIX calls it "file type" all over the place, e.g. in the
documentation of stat's st_mode field. A new term is going to confuse
lots of Unix developers.

Windows developer are only used to two kinds of files: regular files and
directories. Even symlinks are rarely used on Windows. I agree that
Windows developers are going to be confused by the concept of 'reg' or
'regular file'.

Andrew's sugestion of an enum instead of strings has a nice benefit. We
can have both concepts if file_types.FILE == file_types.REG.

Christian