readline()/readlines() inconsistent?

[Tim Hammerquist]

Carsten Gaebler <clpy at snakefarm.org> wrote:
> Hi there!
> 
> I've just come across a strange difference between readline() and
> readlines():
> 
> Python 2.1 (#17, Jun 15 2001, 15:24:30) 
> [GCC 2.95.2 19991024 (release)] on linux2
> Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
> >>> f = open("foobar", "w")
> >>> f.readline()
> ''
> >>> f.close()
> >>> 
> >>> f =  open("foobar", "w")
> >>> f.readlines()
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "<stdin>", line 1, in ?
> IOError: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor
> >>> 

Same happens on my box.

$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.2.15-4mdk (chmou at kenobi.mandrakesoft.com)
(gcc version 2.95.3 19991030 (prerelease)) #1 Wed May 10 15:31:30 CEST 2000

$ python
Python 2.0 (#1, Oct 16 2000, 18:10:03) 
[GCC 2.95.2 19991024 (release)] on linux2
[ snip ]

BTW, is file.xreadlines() a new feature in Py2.1?

Of course, an obvious question is, if you want to read _and_ write, why
weren't you using 'r+' or 'w+' to begin with?

I hope someone can answer this, but is this a matter of file I/O
implementation between different OS's?  Or is this a Python
implementation issue?

-- 
-Tim Hammerquist <timmy at cpan.org>
"Dir-ty deeds...DONE TO SHEEP!"
Heh heh...AC/DC, eat yer heart out.
    -- Mary Roth