[Python-Dev] Re: RELEASED Python 2.3.1 (original) (raw)

Tim Peters tim.one at comcast.net
Mon Sep 29 11:58:43 EDT 2003

[Skip Montanaro]

Then shouldn't a file.flush() call be sufficient to force a call to write(2) on POSIX systems?

The POSIX spec doesn't say that, but it does say enough that it shouldn't matter whether or not an fflush implementation happens to call write under the covers -- POSIX fflush is required to write data "to the file" regardless of how it's implemented.

A difficulty with Windows is that a file ain't an inode -- a file doesn't exist except in a directory, and the directory structure records the current length of the files in the directory. Writing data to a file doesn't necessarily update the file length stored in the file's directory entry, and flushing doesn't necessary update it either; _commit() does. Native Windows utilities get their idea of a file's length from reading the file's directory entry.

... It's been established that os.fsync() is required for Windows in at least some circumstances, so you have to assume it's required under all circumstances, correct?

Sorry, I didn't follow the question.

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