raw_input - why doesn't prompt go to stderr

Donn Cave donn at drizzle.com
Wed Jan 28 01:07:06 EST 2004


Quoth "Terry Reedy" <tjreedy at udel.edu>:
[... in response to]
|> Tell me any advantage in raw_input's prompt is going to stdout instead
|> of stderr?
|
| I don't know the ramification of the distinction, expecially across
| platforms, well enough to answer.  I can only reiterate my suggestion,
| given Python as it is today and will remain for some time, that you print
| to 'ofile' with default ofile == sys.stdout but with command line or
| interactive redirection.

I don't know either, but agree that the cross platform point is
probably an issue.  If it were strictly a UNIX application, I would
indeed expect prompt on stderr - as well as a lot of other stuff
that now goes to stdout.  But I've heard complaints from the Windows
crowd that stderr output is a nuisance there in some way, and for
sure you couldn't expect MS to appreciate the virtue of this
distinction even if they do somehow observe it.

	Donn Cave, donn at drizzle.com



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