[Python-bugs-list] [ python-Bugs-725265 ] urlopen object's read() doesn't read to EOF

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Bugs item #725265, was opened at 2003-04-21 16:49
Message generated for change (Settings changed) made by fdrake
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Category: Documentation
Group: Python 2.2.2
Status: Open
Resolution: None
Priority: 5
Submitted By: Christopher Smith (smichr)
>Assigned to: Fred L. Drake, Jr. (fdrake)
Summary: urlopen object's read() doesn't read to EOF

Initial Comment:
On http://python.org/doc/current/lib/module-urllib.html it says that 

the object returned by urlopen supports the read()method and that 

this and other methods "have the same interface as for file objects 

-- see section 2.2.8".  In that section on page 

http://python.org/doc/current/lib/bltin-file-objects.html it says about 

the read() method that "if the size argument is negative or omitted, 

[read should] read all data until EOF is reached."



I was a bit surprised when a project that students of mine were 

working on were failing when they tried to process the data 

obtained by the read() method on a connection made to a web 

page.  The problem, apparently, is that the read may not obtain all 

of the data requested in the first request and the total response 

has to be built up someting like follows:



import urllib

c=urllib.urlopen("http://www.blakeschool.org")

data = ''

while 1:

	packet=c.read()

	if packet == '': break

	data+=packet

	

I'm not sure if this is a feature or a bug.  Could a file's read method 

fail to obtain the whole file in one read(), too?  It seems that either 

the documentation should be changed or the read() method for at 

least urllib objects should be changed.



/c



Christopher P. Smith

The Blake School

Minneapolis, MN



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