[Python-Dev] .pythonrc.py in man page

[Guido van Rossum]

On Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 5:58 PM, Mitchell L Model <MLMLists at comcast.net> wrote:
> The python man page, dated 2005 even in 3.1, has this curious entry:
>
>      ~/.pythonrc.py
>              User-specific initialization file loaded by the user module;
> not
>              used by default or by most applications.
>
> 1. I couldn't figure out what the user module is.

user.py.

> 2. I couldn't figure out what "not used by default or by most applications"
> meant: what would cause it to get loaded when python starts up? how would an
> application load it even if the user's environment didn't cause it to get
> loaded?

The docstring in user.py explains this.

> 3. Why would this file exist if the environment variable PYTHONSTARTUP can
> specify a file to be loaded at startup?

PYTHONSTARTUP is only used in interactive sessions.

> Perhaps this entry in the man page is obsolete and should be removed?

Not at all.

-- 
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)