summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Misc
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'Misc')
-rw-r--r--Misc/python.man85
1 files changed, 64 insertions, 21 deletions
diff --git a/Misc/python.man b/Misc/python.man
index a67bcca..c246ddc 100644
--- a/Misc/python.man
+++ b/Misc/python.man
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ python \- an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language
[
.B \-v
]
-[
+.br
+ [
.B \-x
]
[
@@ -51,6 +52,9 @@ The Python Library Reference documents built-in and standard types,
constants, functions and modules.
Finally, the Python Reference Manual describes the syntax and
semantics of the core language in (perhaps too) much detail.
+(Information on locating these documents is included in
+.B "SEE ALSO"
+below; they may be installed on your system as well.)
.PP
Python's basic power can be extended with your own modules written in
C or C++.
@@ -75,8 +79,7 @@ raises an exception.
Turn on basic optimizations. This changes the filename extension for
compiled (bytecode) files from
.I .pyc
-to
-.I pyo.
+to \fI.pyo\fP. Given twice, causes docstrings to be discarded.
.TP
.B \-S
Disable the import of the module
@@ -95,7 +98,10 @@ Force stdin, stdout and stderr to be totally unbuffered.
.TP
.B \-v
Print a message each time a module is initialized, showing the place
-(filename or built-in module) from which it is loaded.
+(filename or built-in module) from which it is loaded. When given
+twice, print a message for each file that is checked for when
+searching for a module. Also provides information on module cleanup
+at exit.
.TP
.B \-x
Skip the first line of the source. This is intended for a DOS
@@ -104,7 +110,8 @@ be off by one!
.TP
.B \-X
Make the standard exceptions strings instead of classes.
-Use for backward compatibility with old code only.
+Use for backward compatibility with old code only. This is not
+necessary for most uses of string exceptions.
.TP
.BI "\-c " command
Specify the command to execute (see next section).
@@ -166,27 +173,47 @@ sometimes ignored, in favor of the
exception). Error messages are written to stderr.
.SH FILES AND DIRECTORIES
These are subject to difference depending on local installation
-conventions:
-.IP /usr/local/bin/python
+conventions; ${prefix} and ${exec_prefix} are installation-dependent
+and should be interpreted as for GNU software; they may be the same.
+The default for both is \fI/usr/local\fP.
+.IP \fI${exec_prefix}/bin/python\fP
Recommended location of the interpreter.
-.IP /usr/local/lib/python<version>
-Recommended location of the directory containing the standard modules.
+.PP
+.I ${prefix}/lib/python<version>
+.br
+.I ${exec_prefix}/lib/python<version>
+.RS
+Recommended locations of the directories containing the standard
+modules.
+.RE
+.PP
+.I ${prefix}/include/python<version>
+.br
+.I ${exec_prefix}/include/python<version>
+.RS
+Recommended locations of the directories containing the include files
+needed for developing Python extensions and embedding the
+interpreter.
+.RE
+.IP \fI~/.pythonrc.py\fP
+User-specific initialization file loaded by the \fIuser\fP module;
+not used by default or by most applications.
.SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
.IP PYTHONHOME
Change the location of the standard Python libraries. By default, the
-libraries are searched in <prefix>/lib/python<version> and
-<exec_prefix>/lib/python<version>, where <prefix> and <exec_prefix>
+libraries are searched in ${prefix}/lib/python<version> and
+${exec_prefix}/lib/python<version>, where ${prefix} and ${exec_prefix}
are installation-dependent directories, both defaulting to
-/usr/local. When $PYTHONHOME is set to a single directory, its value
-replaces both <prefix> and <exec_prefix>. To specify different values
-for these, set $PYTHONHOME to <prefix>:<exec_prefix>.
+\fI/usr/local\fP. When $PYTHONHOME is set to a single directory, its value
+replaces both ${prefix} and ${exec_prefix}. To specify different values
+for these, set $PYTHONHOME to ${prefix}:${exec_prefix}.
.IP PYTHONPATH
Augments the default search path for module files.
The format is the same as the shell's $PATH: one or more directory
pathnames separated by colons.
Non-existant directories are silently ignored.
The default search path is installation dependent, but generally
-begins with <prefix>/lib/python<version> (see PYTHONHOME below).
+begins with ${prefix}/lib/python<version> (see PYTHONHOME above).
The default search path is always appended to $PYTHONPATH.
If a script argument is given, the directory containing the script is
inserted in the path in front of $PYTHONPATH.
@@ -218,11 +245,19 @@ the \fB\-u\fP option.
If this is set to a non-empty string it is equivalent to specifying
the \fB\-v\fP option.
.SH SEE ALSO
-Python Tutorial
-.br
-Python Library Reference
-.br
-Python Reference Manual
+.IP "Python Tutorial"
+URL: http://www.python.org/doc/tut/tut.html
+.IP "Python Library Reference"
+URL: http://www.python.org/doc/lib/lib.html
+.IP "Python Reference Manual"
+URL: http://www.python.org/doc/ref/ref.html
+.IP "Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter"
+URL: http://www.python.org/doc/ext/ext.html
+.IP "Python/C API"
+URL: http://www.python.org/doc/api/api.html
+.PP
+Downloadable versions of these documents in many formats are available
+at the Python website; see \fB\INTERNET RESOURCES\fP below.
.SH AUTHOR
.nf
Guido van Rossum
@@ -240,7 +275,15 @@ Web site: http://www.python.org
.br
FTP site: ftp://ftp.python.org
.br
-Newsgroup: comp.lang.python
+Newsgroups: comp.lang.python, comp.lang.python.announce
+.PP
+There are many mirror sites; a current list is available at
+http://www.python.org/mirrors.html.
+.PP
+The \fI\Python Software Activity\fP provides many mailing lists which
+serve various special interests within the Python community;
+information on these special interest groups is available at
+http://www.python.org/sigs/.
.SH COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1991-1995 by Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands.