New submission from Mitchell Model <m...@acm.org>: Documentation of the mode parameter of the built-in function open is insufficient with respect to what values are acceptable.
(1) Right after the mode table, it states "For binary random access, the mode 'w+b' opens and truncates the file to 0 bytes, while 'r+b' opens the file without truncation." This is true of text random access too -- w+ or r+. Furthermore, the possibility of a+, while meaningful, is not mentioned. (2) The documentation does not, but should, say that while w/r/a with or without the plus can appear without a 'b' or 't', a plain 'b' as the mode valuable raises an error that r/w/a wasn't specified. (3) The documentation does not, but should, say that + cannot stand on its own -- the mode must also include an r, w, or a. The table listing the meanings of each value just says + means "open a disk file for updating (reading and writing)". Suggested rewording is to put the phrase "in conjunction with 'r', 'w', or 'a', open a disk file...". Alternatively, add a note to that table entry and explain below that the plus must accompany a r/w/a. ---------- assignee: georg.brandl components: Documentation messages: 80549 nosy: MLModel, georg.brandl severity: normal status: open title: Inadequate documentation of the built-in function open versions: Python 2.5, Python 2.6, Python 2.7, Python 3.0, Python 3.1 _______________________________________ Python tracker <rep...@bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue5061> _______________________________________ _______________________________________________ Python-bugs-list mailing list Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-bugs-list/archive%40mail-archive.com
