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ftplib documentation is unclear #54281
Description
| BPO | 10072 |
|---|---|
| Nosy | @birkenfeld, @orsenthil, @giampaolo, @merwok |
| Files |
Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.
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GitHub fields:
assignee = None
closed_at = <Date 2010-10-15.19:46:32.287>
created_at = <Date 2010-10-12.13:32:09.061>
labels = ['type-feature', 'docs']
title = 'ftplib documentation is unclear'
updated_at = <Date 2010-10-15.19:46:32.285>
user = 'https://bugs.python.org/rafekettler'bugs.python.org fields:
activity = <Date 2010-10-15.19:46:32.285>
actor = 'georg.brandl'
assignee = 'docs@python'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2010-10-15.19:46:32.287>
closer = 'georg.brandl'
components = ['Documentation']
creation = <Date 2010-10-12.13:32:09.061>
creator = 'rafe.kettler'
dependencies = []
files = ['19202', '19204']
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 10072
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 6.0
messages = ['118423', '118437', '118459', '118460', '118462', '118826']
nosy_count = 6.0
nosy_names = ['georg.brandl', 'orsenthil', 'giampaolo.rodola', 'eric.araujo', 'docs@python', 'rafe.kettler']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'normal'
resolution = 'accepted'
stage = None
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = 'enhancement'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue10072'
versions = ['Python 3.1', 'Python 2.7', 'Python 3.2']
Activity
rafekettler commentedon Oct 12, 2010
I think that the documentation for ftplib is a bit too concise and assumes that the reader in an expert in the protocol when the point of the module is to abstract out such details.
For example, for the error documentation, the exceptions are only explained by the error code the server can return to trigger them. So, while the explanation of error_perm, for example, should say something about permissions, it just says "raised when an error code in the range 500–599 is received." This is particularly unclear for those with no knowledge of the internals of the protocol.
Also, in the documentation for RetrLines(), the documentation mentions the options LIST, NLST, and MLSD without explaining what they are. I know that when I first started using ftplib I had to experiment with each option to determine what they do, and I think it would be better if this was clear in the docs from the start.
This can become particularly unclear for less FTP-savvy users.
I can propose a patch to the documentation if needed.
giampaolo commentedon Oct 12, 2010
A patch would be great.
rafekettler commentedon Oct 12, 2010
I've drafted up a patch. For those of you who don't want to read the diff, it changes all references to FTP reply codes with short explanations of what they do. Also, in the docs for retrlines() and nlst() the commands LIST, NLST, and MLSD are explained.
Attached is the patch.
merwok commentedon Oct 12, 2010
Looks good to me. Before committing, spaces after full stops should be doubled.
rafekettler commentedon Oct 12, 2010
Double spaced after the sentence ending periods.
birkenfeld commentedon Oct 15, 2010
Committed after review in r85548. Thanks!