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authorJeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai@in-nomine.org>2008-04-16 12:47:01 (GMT)
committerJeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai@in-nomine.org>2008-04-16 12:47:01 (GMT)
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--- a/Doc/library/mmap.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/mmap.rst
@@ -8,60 +8,61 @@
Memory-mapped file objects behave like both strings and like file objects.
Unlike normal string objects, however, these are mutable. You can use mmap
-objects in most places where strings are expected; for example, you can use the
-:mod:`re` module to search through a memory-mapped file. Since they're mutable,
-you can change a single character by doing ``obj[index] = 'a'``, or change a
-substring by assigning to a slice: ``obj[i1:i2] = '...'``. You can also read
-and write data starting at the current file position, and :meth:`seek` through
-the file to different positions.
-
-A memory-mapped file is created by the :class:`mmap` constructor, which is different
-on Unix and on Windows. In either case you must provide a file descriptor for a
-file opened for update. If you wish to map an existing Python file object, use
-its :meth:`fileno` method to obtain the correct value for the *fileno*
-parameter. Otherwise, you can open the file using the :func:`os.open` function,
-which returns a file descriptor directly (the file still needs to be closed when
-done).
+objects in most places where strings are expected; for example, you can use
+the :mod:`re` module to search through a memory-mapped file. Since they're
+mutable, you can change a single character by doing ``obj[index] = 'a'``, or
+change a substring by assigning to a slice: ``obj[i1:i2] = '...'``. You can
+also read and write data starting at the current file position, and
+:meth:`seek` through the file to different positions.
+
+A memory-mapped file is created by the :class:`mmap` constructor, which is
+different on Unix and on Windows. In either case you must provide a file
+descriptor for a file opened for update. If you wish to map an existing Python
+file object, use its :meth:`fileno` method to obtain the correct value for the
+*fileno* parameter. Otherwise, you can open the file using the
+:func:`os.open` function, which returns a file descriptor directly (the file
+still needs to be closed when done).
For both the Unix and Windows versions of the constructor, *access* may be
specified as an optional keyword parameter. *access* accepts one of three
-values: :const:`ACCESS_READ`, :const:`ACCESS_WRITE`, or :const:`ACCESS_COPY` to
-specify readonly, write-through or copy-on-write memory respectively. *access*
-can be used on both Unix and Windows. If *access* is not specified, Windows
-mmap returns a write-through mapping. The initial memory values for all three
-access types are taken from the specified file. Assignment to an
-:const:`ACCESS_READ` memory map raises a :exc:`TypeError` exception. Assignment
-to an :const:`ACCESS_WRITE` memory map affects both memory and the underlying
-file. Assignment to an :const:`ACCESS_COPY` memory map affects memory but does
-not update the underlying file.
+values: :const:`ACCESS_READ`, :const:`ACCESS_WRITE`, or :const:`ACCESS_COPY`
+to specify readonly, write-through or copy-on-write memory respectively.
+*access* can be used on both Unix and Windows. If *access* is not specified,
+Windows mmap returns a write-through mapping. The initial memory values for
+all three access types are taken from the specified file. Assignment to an
+:const:`ACCESS_READ` memory map raises a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
+Assignment to an :const:`ACCESS_WRITE` memory map affects both memory and the
+underlying file. Assignment to an :const:`ACCESS_COPY` memory map affects
+memory but does not update the underlying file.
.. versionchanged:: 2.5
To map anonymous memory, -1 should be passed as the fileno along with the
length.
.. versionchanged:: 2.6
- mmap.mmap has formerly been a factory function creating mmap objects. Now
+ mmap.mmap has formerly been a factory function creating mmap objects. Now
mmap.mmap is the class itself.
.. class:: mmap(fileno, length[, tagname[, access[, offset]]])
- **(Windows version)** Maps *length* bytes from the file specified by the file
- handle *fileno*, and creates a mmap object. If *length* is larger than the
- current size of the file, the file is extended to contain *length* bytes. If
- *length* is ``0``, the maximum length of the map is the current size of the
- file, except that if the file is empty Windows raises an exception (you cannot
- create an empty mapping on Windows).
+ **(Windows version)** Maps *length* bytes from the file specified by the
+ file handle *fileno*, and creates a mmap object. If *length* is larger
+ than the current size of the file, the file is extended to contain *length*
+ bytes. If *length* is ``0``, the maximum length of the map is the current
+ size of the file, except that if the file is empty Windows raises an
+ exception (you cannot create an empty mapping on Windows).
- *tagname*, if specified and not ``None``, is a string giving a tag name for the
- mapping. Windows allows you to have many different mappings against the same
- file. If you specify the name of an existing tag, that tag is opened, otherwise
- a new tag of this name is created. If this parameter is omitted or ``None``,
- the mapping is created without a name. Avoiding the use of the tag parameter
- will assist in keeping your code portable between Unix and Windows.
+ *tagname*, if specified and not ``None``, is a string giving a tag name for
+ the mapping. Windows allows you to have many different mappings against
+ the same file. If you specify the name of an existing tag, that tag is
+ opened, otherwise a new tag of this name is created. If this parameter is
+ omitted or ``None``, the mapping is created without a name. Avoiding the
+ use of the tag parameter will assist in keeping your code portable between
+ Unix and Windows.
- *offset* may be specified as a non-negative integer offset. mmap references will
- be relative to the offset from the beginning of the file. *offset* defaults to 0.
- *offset* must be a multiple of the ALLOCATIONGRANULARITY.
+ *offset* may be specified as a non-negative integer offset. mmap references
+ will be relative to the offset from the beginning of the file. *offset*
+ defaults to 0. *offset* must be a multiple of the ALLOCATIONGRANULARITY.
.. class:: mmap(fileno, length[, flags[, prot[, access[, offset]]]])
@@ -69,26 +70,29 @@ not update the underlying file.
**(Unix version)** Maps *length* bytes from the file specified by the file
descriptor *fileno*, and returns a mmap object. If *length* is ``0``, the
- maximum length of the map will be the current size of the file when :class:`mmap`
- is called.
+ maximum length of the map will be the current size of the file when
+ :class:`mmap` is called.
*flags* specifies the nature of the mapping. :const:`MAP_PRIVATE` creates a
- private copy-on-write mapping, so changes to the contents of the mmap object
- will be private to this process, and :const:`MAP_SHARED` creates a mapping
- that's shared with all other processes mapping the same areas of the file. The
- default value is :const:`MAP_SHARED`.
-
- *prot*, if specified, gives the desired memory protection; the two most useful
- values are :const:`PROT_READ` and :const:`PROT_WRITE`, to specify that the pages
- may be read or written. *prot* defaults to :const:`PROT_READ \| PROT_WRITE`.
-
- *access* may be specified in lieu of *flags* and *prot* as an optional keyword
- parameter. It is an error to specify both *flags*, *prot* and *access*. See
- the description of *access* above for information on how to use this parameter.
-
- *offset* may be specified as a non-negative integer offset. mmap references will
- be relative to the offset from the beginning of the file. *offset* defaults to 0.
- *offset* must be a multiple of the PAGESIZE or ALLOCATIONGRANULARITY.
+ private copy-on-write mapping, so changes to the contents of the mmap
+ object will be private to this process, and :const:`MAP_SHARED` creates a
+ mapping that's shared with all other processes mapping the same areas of
+ the file. The default value is :const:`MAP_SHARED`.
+
+ *prot*, if specified, gives the desired memory protection; the two most
+ useful values are :const:`PROT_READ` and :const:`PROT_WRITE`, to specify
+ that the pages may be read or written. *prot* defaults to
+ :const:`PROT_READ \| PROT_WRITE`.
+
+ *access* may be specified in lieu of *flags* and *prot* as an optional
+ keyword parameter. It is an error to specify both *flags*, *prot* and
+ *access*. See the description of *access* above for information on how to
+ use this parameter.
+
+ *offset* may be specified as a non-negative integer offset. mmap references
+ will be relative to the offset from the beginning of the file. *offset*
+ defaults to 0. *offset* must be a multiple of the PAGESIZE or
+ ALLOCATIONGRANULARITY.
This example shows a simple way of using :class:`mmap`::
@@ -138,32 +142,32 @@ Memory-mapped file objects support the following methods:
.. method:: mmap.close()
- Close the file. Subsequent calls to other methods of the object will result in
- an exception being raised.
+ Close the file. Subsequent calls to other methods of the object will
+ result in an exception being raised.
.. method:: mmap.find(string[, start[, end]])
- Returns the lowest index in the object where the substring *string* is found,
- such that *string* is contained in the range [*start*, *end*]. Optional
- arguments *start* and *end* are interpreted as in slice notation.
+ Returns the lowest index in the object where the substring *string* is
+ found, such that *string* is contained in the range [*start*, *end*].
+ Optional arguments *start* and *end* are interpreted as in slice notation.
Returns ``-1`` on failure.
.. method:: mmap.flush([offset, size])
- Flushes changes made to the in-memory copy of a file back to disk. Without use
- of this call there is no guarantee that changes are written back before the
- object is destroyed. If *offset* and *size* are specified, only changes to the
- given range of bytes will be flushed to disk; otherwise, the whole extent of the
- mapping is flushed.
+ Flushes changes made to the in-memory copy of a file back to disk. Without
+ use of this call there is no guarantee that changes are written back before
+ the object is destroyed. If *offset* and *size* are specified, only
+ changes to the given range of bytes will be flushed to disk; otherwise, the
+ whole extent of the mapping is flushed.
.. method:: mmap.move(dest, src, count)
- Copy the *count* bytes starting at offset *src* to the destination index *dest*.
- If the mmap was created with :const:`ACCESS_READ`, then calls to move will throw
- a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
+ Copy the *count* bytes starting at offset *src* to the destination index
+ *dest*. If the mmap was created with :const:`ACCESS_READ`, then calls to
+ move will throw a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
.. method:: mmap.read(num)
@@ -181,31 +185,31 @@ Memory-mapped file objects support the following methods:
.. method:: mmap.readline()
- Returns a single line, starting at the current file position and up to the next
- newline.
+ Returns a single line, starting at the current file position and up to the
+ next newline.
.. method:: mmap.resize(newsize)
- Resizes the map and the underlying file, if any. If the mmap was created with
- :const:`ACCESS_READ` or :const:`ACCESS_COPY`, resizing the map will throw a
- :exc:`TypeError` exception.
+ Resizes the map and the underlying file, if any. If the mmap was created
+ with :const:`ACCESS_READ` or :const:`ACCESS_COPY`, resizing the map will
+ throw a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
.. method:: mmap.rfind(string[, start[, end]])
Returns the highest index in the object where the substring *string* is
- found, such that *string* is contained in the range [*start*,
- *end*]. Optional arguments *start* and *end* are interpreted as in slice
- notation. Returns ``-1`` on failure.
+ found, such that *string* is contained in the range [*start*, *end*].
+ Optional arguments *start* and *end* are interpreted as in slice notation.
+ Returns ``-1`` on failure.
.. method:: mmap.seek(pos[, whence])
- Set the file's current position. *whence* argument is optional and defaults to
- ``os.SEEK_SET`` or ``0`` (absolute file positioning); other values are
- ``os.SEEK_CUR`` or ``1`` (seek relative to the current position) and
- ``os.SEEK_END`` or ``2`` (seek relative to the file's end).
+ Set the file's current position. *whence* argument is optional and
+ defaults to ``os.SEEK_SET`` or ``0`` (absolute file positioning); other
+ values are ``os.SEEK_CUR`` or ``1`` (seek relative to the current position)
+ and ``os.SEEK_END`` or ``2`` (seek relative to the file's end).
.. method:: mmap.size()
@@ -223,15 +227,15 @@ Memory-mapped file objects support the following methods:
Write the bytes in *string* into memory at the current position of the file
pointer; the file position is updated to point after the bytes that were
- written. If the mmap was created with :const:`ACCESS_READ`, then writing to it
- will throw a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
+ written. If the mmap was created with :const:`ACCESS_READ`, then writing to
+ it will throw a :exc:`TypeError` exception.
.. method:: mmap.write_byte(byte)
- Write the single-character string *byte* into memory at the current position of
- the file pointer; the file position is advanced by ``1``. If the mmap was
- created with :const:`ACCESS_READ`, then writing to it will throw a
- :exc:`TypeError` exception.
+ Write the single-character string *byte* into memory at the current
+ position of the file pointer; the file position is advanced by ``1``. If
+ the mmap was created with :const:`ACCESS_READ`, then writing to it will
+ throw a :exc:`TypeError` exception.