*tuple vs tuple example printos.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.tmpnam()), *("a", "b", "c"))

[Fredrik Lundh]

Steve wrote:

> I have been trying to find documentation on the behavior

the behaviour of what ?

> Can anyone tell me why the first example works and the second doesn't
> and where I can read about it in the language reference?

the os.path.join documentation (in the library reference) says

    join(path1[, path2[, ...]])

    Joins one or more path components intelligently. /.../ The return
    value is the concatenation of path1, and optionally path2, etc.,
    with exactly one directory separator (os.sep) inserted between
    components /.../

that is, the syntax is

    path = os.path.join("part1", "part2", "part3")

your first example

>  print os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.tmpnam()),*("a","b","c"))

is equivalent to

    print os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.tmpnam()), "a", "b", "c")

which matches the description in the library reference.

the "*" notation is described, among other places, in the "calls"
section of the language reference:

    http://docs.python.org/ref/calls.html

    "If the syntax "*expression" appears in the function call,
    "expression" must evaluate to a sequence. Elements from
    this sequence are treated as if they were additional
    positional arguments"


you second example

>  print os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.tmpnam()),("a","b","c"))  #

passes in a tuple as path2, which doesn't match the library reference.
since Python expects you to pass in a string, you get an exception when
you pass in something else.

</F>