[Python-Dev] cpython (merge 3.3 -> default): Merge with 3.3 (original) (raw)

Terry Jan Reedy tjreedy at udel.edu
Wed May 29 01:29:33 CEST 2013

On 5/28/2013 3:39 PM, Antoine Pitrou wrote:

On Tue, 28 May 2013 15:06:39 -0400 Terry Reedy <tjreedy at udel.edu> wrote:

Yes, Nick suggested README instead of what I had. I want a prefix to keep it near the top of a directory listing even when other non 'testxxx' files are added. I thing '' wold be better though. I don't think "prefixing with a weird character

'_' is not weird for Python names.

so that the filename show up top" is a very elegant trick,

I disagree. Books have Table of Contents, Preface, and Foreword sections at the front for a reason: if they are present, they are easy and obvious to find. READMEs are like a preface*, sometimes with an annotated Contents. They logically belong at the top for the same reason.

A long title for this how-to file, which I would prefer, would be something like "_Writing-Testing-Running_Idle_Tests", or "_Idle_Test-Writing_Guidelines", or "A_Guide_to_Idle_Tests", or "An_Idle_Test_HOWTO".

*At least this one is. Some are addenda that have little to do with the other files in the directory. They might better have a different name, like 'Manual Corrections' (which would sort after 'Manual', where it belongs), "Starting the game', 'Windows differences', etc. I don't know if 'readme.txt' was common before DOS 8.3 filename limitations, but that limit is mostly gone.

I have used this 'trick' for decades. Another file that does not belong in the main alpha list is a project-specific template for the .py files in a directory.

and we don't use it for other directories.

I think we should. Seriously. Maybe with more descriptive names.

"README.txt" will be easily visible because of the all-caps filename.

Somewhat easy, but only if one thinks to look for it. I only found 4 used outside of Lib/test/*. Which of the following big directories have a README? /Lib /Lib/idlelib /Lib/test /Tools/scripts

Would it not be easier to discover if the 'preface' file were always at or near the top?

"Rename in hg" -> "hg rename"

Thanks. Found it with Google and read that it works well in hg. I will also check if TortoiseHG has an easy gui equivalent (rt click on file to rename).

Terry

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