[Python-checkins] bpo-36264: Updates documentation for change to expanduser on Windows (GH-12294)

[Steve Dower]

https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/8ef864d50fb847cf15d5717c0db04fd60fb13d8d
commit: 8ef864d50fb847cf15d5717c0db04fd60fb13d8d
branch: master
author: Steve Dower <steve.dower at microsoft.com>
committer: GitHub <noreply at github.com>
date: 2019-03-12T15:15:26-07:00
summary:

bpo-36264: Updates documentation for change to expanduser on Windows (GH-12294)

files:
M Doc/library/os.path.rst
M Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst

diff --git a/Doc/library/os.path.rst b/Doc/library/os.path.rst
index ebbf63cc3548..a167e3b885fd 100644
--- a/Doc/library/os.path.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/os.path.rst
@@ -172,10 +172,10 @@ the :mod:`glob` module.)
    password directory through the built-in module :mod:`pwd`. An initial ``~user``
    is looked up directly in the password directory.
 
-   On Windows, :envvar:`HOME` and :envvar:`USERPROFILE` will be used if set,
-   otherwise a combination of :envvar:`HOMEPATH` and :envvar:`HOMEDRIVE` will be
-   used.  An initial ``~user`` is handled by stripping the last directory component
-   from the created user path derived above.
+   On Windows, :envvar:`USERPROFILE` will be used if set, otherwise a combination
+   of :envvar:`HOMEPATH` and :envvar:`HOMEDRIVE` will be used.  An initial
+   ``~user`` is handled by stripping the last directory component from the created
+   user path derived above.
 
    If the expansion fails or if the path does not begin with a tilde, the path is
    returned unchanged.
@@ -183,6 +183,9 @@ the :mod:`glob` module.)
    .. versionchanged:: 3.6
       Accepts a :term:`path-like object`.
 
+   .. versionchanged:: 3.8
+      No longer uses :envvar:`HOME` on Windows.
+
 .. index::
    single: $ (dollar); environment variables expansion
    single: % (percent); environment variables expansion (Windows)
diff --git a/Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst b/Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst
index ad86917d0cc7..4adeded30375 100644
--- a/Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst
+++ b/Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst
@@ -236,6 +236,10 @@ now return ``False`` instead of raising :exc:`ValueError` or its subclasses
 characters or bytes unrepresentable at the OS level.
 (Contributed by Serhiy Storchaka in :issue:`33721`.)
 
+:func:`~os.path.expanduser` on Windows now prefers the :envvar:`USERPROFILE`
+environment variable and does not use :envvar:`HOME`, which is not normally set
+for regular user accounts.
+
 
 ncurses
 -------
@@ -672,6 +676,10 @@ Changes in the Python API
   :exc:`dbm.gnu.error` or :exc:`dbm.ndbm.error`) instead of :exc:`KeyError`.
   (Contributed by Xiang Zhang in :issue:`33106`.)
 
+* :func:`~os.path.expanduser` on Windows now prefers the :envvar:`USERPROFILE`
+  environment variable and does not use :envvar:`HOME`, which is not normally
+  set for regular user accounts.
+
 
 CPython bytecode changes
 ------------------------