python docs search for 'print'

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:58:43 -0400, David Hoese wrote:

> A friend made me aware of this:
> When a python beginner (2.x) quick searches for "print" on
> docs.python.org, the print function doesn't even come up in the top 20
> results.  The print statement isn't even listed as far as I can tell. Is
> there something that can be done about this to make it easier for
> beginners?
> 
> I understand that this is a very basic search and "print" is a very
> common word and a very basic python statement, but it's pretty difficult
> for a beginner to learn when the first 5 results are about the
> disassembler and the next 5 are C functions.

I sympathise. The search functionality on docs.python.org is frankly 
crap, and the best thing for your friend to do is to learn to use google, 
duckduckgo or some other search engine:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=python+print
http://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=python+print

In this case, google hits the right Python documentation on the first 
link. Duckduckgo doesn't do nearly so well, but it comes up with a bunch 
of useful third-party links. It does better for searches with fewer 

The second best thing for your friend to do is to learn to read the index 
to the docs, where the print statement is listed:

http://docs.python.org/reference/index.html

You can use your browser's Find command to search the page for "print".


-- 
Steven