[Python-Dev] Portable and OS-dependent module idea/proposal/brain fart

[Jack Jansen]

But in Python, with its nice high-level datastructures, couldn't we
design the Mother Of All File Attribute Calls, which would optionally
map functionality from one platform to another?

As an example consider the Mac resource fork size. If on unix I did
  fattrs = os.getfileattributes(filename)
  rfsize = fattrs.get('resourceforksize')
it would raise an exception. If, however, I did
  rfsize = fattrs.get('resourceforksize', compat=1)
I would get a "close approximation", 0. Note that you want some sort
of a compat parameter, not a default value, as for some attributes
(the various atime/mtime/ctimes, permission bits, etc) you'd get a
default based on other file attributes that do exist on the current
platform.

Hmm, the file-attribute-object idea has the added advantage that you
can then use setfileattributes(filename, fattrs) to be sure that
you've copied all relevant attributes, independent of the platform
you're on.

Mapping permissions takes a bit more (design-) work, with unix having
user/group/other only and Windows having full-fledged ACLs (or nothing 
at all, depending how you look at it:-), but should also be doable.

--
Jack Jansen             | ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
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