summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorFred Drake <fdrake@acm.org>1999-04-05 21:22:41 (GMT)
committerFred Drake <fdrake@acm.org>1999-04-05 21:22:41 (GMT)
commit9aa8543c842d08f24ccc5a707fd557d8c4c84cc4 (patch)
treeabd2bc6a70e5c10c12b5f0b93444a6f3dcd0760e /Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
parentae14230069704a08b3187fe71672b0e01bbd78ea (diff)
downloadcpython-9aa8543c842d08f24ccc5a707fd557d8c4c84cc4.zip
cpython-9aa8543c842d08f24ccc5a707fd557d8c4c84cc4.tar.gz
cpython-9aa8543c842d08f24ccc5a707fd557d8c4c84cc4.tar.bz2
open() description: Made it more clear that 'b' should always be
added to the mode value for binary files to improve portability. Fixed latex2html weirdness with a couple of footnotes.
Diffstat (limited to 'Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex')
-rw-r--r--Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex37
1 files changed, 21 insertions, 16 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex b/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
index f195740..df384af 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
@@ -434,18 +434,23 @@ one argument, return the smallest of the arguments.
ignored). If the file cannot be opened, \exception{IOError} is
raised.
-If \var{mode} is omitted, it defaults to \code{'r'}.
-The optional \var{bufsize} argument specifies the file's desired
-buffer size: 0 means unbuffered, 1 means line buffered, any other
-positive value means use a buffer of (approximately) that size. A
-negative \var{bufsize} means to use the system default, which is
-usually line buffered for for tty devices and fully buffered for other
-files. If omitted, the system default is used.%
-\footnote{Specifying a buffer size currently has no effect on systems
-that don't have \cfunction{setvbuf()}. The interface to specify the buffer
-size is not done using a method that calls \cfunction{setvbuf()}, because
-that may dump core when called after any I/O has been performed, and
-there's no reliable way to determine whether this is the case.}
+ If \var{mode} is omitted, it defaults to \code{'r'}. When opening a
+ binary file, you should append \code{'b'} to the \var{mode} value
+ for improved portability. (It's useful even on systems which don't
+ treat binary and text files differently, where it serves as
+ documentation.) The optional \var{bufsize} argument specifies the
+ file's desired buffer size: 0 means unbuffered, 1 means line
+ buffered, any other positive value means use a buffer of
+ (approximately) that size. A negative \var{bufsize} means to use
+ the system default, which is usually line buffered for for tty
+ devices and fully buffered for other files. If omitted, the system
+ default is used.\footnote{
+ Specifying a buffer size currently has no effect on systems that
+ don't have \cfunction{setvbuf()}. The interface to specify the
+ buffer size is not done using a method that calls
+ \cfunction{setvbuf()}, because that may dump core when called
+ after any I/O has been performed, and there's no reliable way to
+ determine whether this is the case.}
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{ord}{c}
@@ -649,10 +654,10 @@ local symbol table. With a module, class or class instance object as
argument (or anything else that has a \member{__dict__} attribute),
returns a dictionary corresponding to the object's symbol table.
The returned dictionary should not be modified: the effects on the
-corresponding symbol table are undefined.%
-\footnote{In the current implementation, local variable bindings
-cannot normally be affected this way, but variables retrieved from
-other scopes (e.g. modules) can be. This may change.}
+corresponding symbol table are undefined.\footnote{
+ In the current implementation, local variable bindings cannot
+ normally be affected this way, but variables retrieved from
+ other scopes (e.g. modules) can be. This may change.}
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{xrange}{\optional{start,} stop\optional{, step}}