[Tutor] Python Docs (Was: Reformatting phone number)

[Kent Johnson]

On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:01 PM, Dotan Cohen <dotancohen at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2008/8/21 Kent Johnson <kent37 at tds.net>:
>> Chapters 2 and 3 of the library reference are highly recommended.
>> http://docs.python.org/lib/lib.html
>
> Let's start from there. I need the startswith() function, but I do not
> know it's name. I search for "strings" and find this:
> 4. String Services
>    * 4.1 string -- Common string operations
>          o 4.1.3 String functions

and somehow you missed
# 3.6.1 String Methods
# 3.6.2 String Formatting Operations

which even should have come first in your search.

> But on that page, this is all there is:
<snip>

But the *very next page*, called "Deprecated string functions", links
to 3.6.1 which is what you want.

> So Python has only two string functions? That's what it looks like.

I think it looks like you are not trying very hard, or that you are
letting your expectations color your search too much.

> Is there any place to suggest
> improvements to the docs? I see on the python.org site it is suggested
> to email website bugs to the site admin. Does that go for the docs?

At the bottom of every page in the docs it says, "See About this
document... [link] for information on suggesting changes." Specific
suggestions for improvement are more likely to be well received than
complaints.

I guess I am a little defensive here, I think the docs are pretty
good. It's true that beginners don't realize that so much meat is in
the library reference, I'm not sure how to make that more obvious. But
your particular problems in finding endswith() in the LR I think come
from you wearing PHP-colored blinders.

Kent