Typing help brings up a screen that says type help()

[Seymore4Head]

On Fri, 29 Aug 2014 21:41:30 -0400, Terry Reedy <tjreedy at udel.edu>
wrote:

>On 8/29/2014 4:40 PM, Seymore4Head wrote:
>> What is the logic behind that?
>
>You should better ask, "How does that happen?".  Attend carefully and 
>you should learn much.
>
>In expressions, python replaces names with the object the name is bound 
>to. In batch mode, a bare name is equivalent to 'pass'.  In interactive 
>mode, a bare "name" is equivalent to "print(repr(name))".
>
> >>> s = 'abc'
> >>> s
>'abc'
> >>> print(str(s))
>abc
> >>> print(repr(s))
>'abc'
>
>This is a handy shortcut. "repr(name)" in turn, is also a shortcut.  It 
>looks for the .__repr__ attribute of type(name) or one of the 
>superclasses.  If there in no override in the inheritance tree, you see 
>the default from object:
>
> >>> object()
><object object at 0x00000000001B2C70>
>
>You have probably seen this pattern already. Now, what is the class of 
>the object bound to 'help' (and 'quit' and 'exit')?
>
> >>> type(help)
><class '_sitebuiltins._Helper'>
> >>> type(quit)
><class '_sitebuiltins.Quitter'>
> >>> type(exit)
><class '_sitebuiltins.Quitter'>
>
>Each of these classes has a .__repr__ method and a .__call__ method. 
>The first simply echoes a fixed string regardless of input.
>
> >>> type(help).__repr__(object())
>'Type help() for interactive help, or help(object) for help about object.'
>
>We can play the same game with python code.
>
> >>> class Helper:
>	def __repr__(self):
>		return 'Type myhelp() for interactive help, or myhelp(object) for help 
>about object.'
>	def __call__(self, arg):
>		help(arg)
>
> >>> myhelp = Helper()
> >>> myhelp
>Type myhelp() for interactive help, or myhelp(object) for help about object.
> >>> myhelp(Helper)
>Help on class Helper in module __main__:
>
>class Helper(builtins.object)
>  |  Methods defined here:
>  |
>  |  __call__(self, arg)
>  |
>  |  __repr__(self)
>  |
>  |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>  |  Data descriptors defined here:
>  |
>  |  __dict__
>  |      dictionary for instance variables (if defined)
>  |
>  |  __weakref__
>  |      list of weak references to the object (if defined)
>
>
>> Couldn't help do the same thing as help()?
>
>Couldn't python stab people in the back by violating its own rules ;-?
>
>(See the doc for what repr and hence .__repr__ are supposed to do.)
>
>You should now understand that the interpreter has *no special 
>knowledge* about help, exit, or quit.  The special behavior is built 
>into their classes.  That is how Python objects work in relation to a 
>few simple syntax rules, like "callable(args)" meaning 'call callable 
>with args'.
>
> > older versions of python would allow ? as help.
>
>If I ever knew that, I have forgotten.  The interpreter must have 
>treated '?' as a special case for interactive input. I suspect help was 
>changed when quit and exit were added.

I think that is more than I wanted to know.  :)
Thanks