Issue 25377: Mention octal format of mode argument of os.chmod (original) (raw)

Issue25377

Created on 2015-10-11 15:36 by krichter, last changed 2022-04-11 14:58 by admin.

Messages (4)
msg252817 - (view)	Author: Karl Richter (krichter)	Date: 2015-10-11 15:36
`help(os.chmod)` doesn't explain that it expects an octal number for its `mode` argument. This is very confusing for beginners and people who are not involved with filesystems and permissions every day. It doesn't need to be explained, just mentioned, maybe with a link to an extended explanation. Example for confusion: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15607903/python-module-os-chmodfile-664-does-not-change-the-permission-to-rw-rw-r-bu
msg252818 - (view)	Author: R. David Murray (r.david.murray) *	Date: 2015-10-11 15:46
The main docs do not mention octal, but instead point to the constants in the stat module. The help text currently says "Operating-system mode bitfield", which is in fact accurate. A decimal number is *not* a bitfield (although it can be interpreted as one, giving the unexpected results). However, the help doc could be enhanced to say "Operating-system mode bitfield, see stat module for symbolic constants.". Basically, the fact that octal works is an historical accident due to it working that way on unix, but ideally should not be relied upon by python code (though of course it will be :).
msg252819 - (view)	Author: Georg Brandl (georg.brandl) *	Date: 2015-10-11 16:34
A short sentence like Be careful when using number literals for *mode*. The conventional UNIX notation for numeric modes uses an octal base, which needs to be indicated with a ``0o`` prefix in Python. should be a good addition here. (I wonder why it isn't there, I seem to recall an earlier issue about this.)
msg370715 - (view)	Author: Ama Aje My Fren (amaajemyfren) *	Date: 2020-06-04 16:08
I think I was finally able to do a PR for this on 3.10. Requesting a triager to please check because it does not appear as a Documentation change on Github. Thanks