Python doc problems example: gzip module

[Xah Lee]

today i need to use Python to decompress gzip files.

since i'm familiar with Python doc and have 10 years of computing
experience with 4 years in unix admin and perl, i have quickly located
the official doc:

http://python.org/doc/2.4.1/lib/module-gzip.html

but after a minute of scanning, please someone tell me what the fuck is
it talking about?

Fuck the Python programing morons.

Thanks.

I just need to decompress files. Is it:

import gzip;
gzip.GzipFile("/Users/xah/access_log.1.gz ");

can someone put a example into that fucking doc so that people don't
have to wade thru whatever fuck it is trying to sound big?

For more about Python doc, please see:
http://xahlee.org/perl-python/re-write_notes.html

Xah
xa*@xahlee.org
∑ http://xahlee.org/

[Xah Lee]

Today i need to use Python to compress/decompress gzip files.

I quickly found the official doc:
http://python.org/doc/2.4.1/lib/module-gzip.html

I'd imagine it being a function something like
GzipFile(filePa th, comprress/decompress, outputPath)

however, scanning the doc after 20 seconds there's no single example
showing how it is used.

Instead, the doc starts with some arcane info about compatibility with
some zlib module and other software.

Then it talks in a very big computer sciency way with bad writing about
the main function GzipFile. No perspectives whatsoever about using it
to solve a problem nor a concrete description of how it functions.
Instead, jargons of Class, Constructor, Object etc are thrown together
with presumption of reader's expertise of Python's file objects and
gzip technical details.

after no understanding, and being not a Python expert, i wanted to read
about file objects but there's no link.

after locating the file object doc page
http://python.org/doc/2.4.1/lib/bltin-file-objects.html
itself talks in some obfuscated incomprehensibl e way.

---------------
Here's the detail of the GzipFile description:

class GzipFile( [filename[, mode[, compresslevel[, fileobj]]]])
Constructor for the GzipFile class, which simulates most of the methods
of a file object, with the exception of the readinto() and truncate()
methods. At least one of fileobj and filename must be given a
non-trivial value.
The new class instance is based on fileobj, which can be a regular
file, a StringIO object, or any other object which simulates a file. It
defaults to None, in which case filename is opened to provide a file
object.

yeah, blab blab blab. what the fuck are you talking about? So, how to
use it?

When fileobj is not None, the filename argument is only used to be
included in the gzip file header, which may includes the original
filename of the uncompressed file. It defaults to the filename of
fileobj, if discernible; otherwise, it defaults to the empty string,
and in this case the original filename is not included in the header.

what the fuck??

The mode argument can be any of 'r', 'rb', 'a', 'ab', 'w', or 'wb',
depending on whether the file will be read or written. The default is
the mode of fileobj if discernible; otherwise, the default is 'rb'. If
not given, the 'b' flag will be added to the mode to ensure the file is
opened in binary mode for cross-platform portability.

discernible? so, what the fuck are exactly these modes? can't you
describe them concretely?

The compresslevel argument is an integer from 1 to 9 controlling the
level of compression; 1 is fastest and produces the least compression,
and 9 is slowest and produces the most compression. The default is 9.

Calling a GzipFile object's close() method does not close fileobj,
since you might wish to append more material after the compressed data.
This also allows you to pass a StringIO object opened for writing as
fileobj, and retrieve the resulting memory buffer using the StringIO
object's getvalue() method.

huh? append more material? pass a StringIO? and memory buffer?

--------------------
Motherfucking 90% of programers using this module really just want to
compress or decompress a file.

Fuck unix advocates and fuck Perlers and fuck Python morons.

PS For more about Python doc, please see:
http://xahlee.org/perl-python/re-write_notes.html

Xah
xa*@xahlee.org
∑ http://xahlee.org/

[Peter Maas]

Xah Lee schrieb:

today i need to use Python to decompress gzip files.

since i'm familiar with Python doc and have 10 years of computing
experience with 4 years in unix admin and perl, i have quickly located
the official doc:

http://python.org/doc/2.4.1/lib/module-gzip.html

but after a minute of scanning, please someone tell me what the fuck is
it talking about?

Fuck the Python programing morons.

Thanks.

I just need to decompress files. Is it:

import gzip;
gzip.GzipFile("/Users/xah/access_log.1.gz ");

can someone put a example into that fucking doc so that people don't
have to wade thru whatever fuck it is trying to sound big?

Here's the example:
import gzip

# read fucked
fuckedfile = gzip.GzipFile(' somefile.gz')
content = fuckedfile.read ()
fuckedfile.clos e()

# write unfucked
unfuckedfile = file('somefile' ,'w')
unfuckedfile.wr ite(content)
unfuckedfile.cl ose()

Please feel free to insert this fucking example into the fucking docs.

Have a nice ... eh fucking day :)

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Maas, M+R Infosysteme, D-52070 Aachen, Tel [phone]
E-mail 'cGV0ZXIubWFhc0 BtcGx1c3IuZGU=\ n'.decode('base 64')
-------------------------------------------------------------------

[Fredrik Lundh]

Peter Maas wrote:

Please feel free to insert this fucking example into the fucking docs.

or use the fucking search engine. searching for "python <module> example"
and clicking the "I feel lucky" button tends to work quite well. e.g.

http://www.google.com/search?q=pytho...+example&btnI=

</F>

[Sybren Stuvel]

Xah Lee enlightened us with:

but after a minute of scanning, please someone tell me what the fuck
is it talking about?

How difficult is it? The first line of the Gzip class explains it all
to me: "Constructo r for the GzipFile class, which simulates most of
the methods of a file object"

Sybren
--
The problem with the world is stupidity. Not saying there should be a
capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the
safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
Frank Zappa

[Xah Lee]

nothing personal my friend. But just in case you are interested about
getting it:

the question here is about quality of documentation, not about whether
you got it.
http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/python_doc.html

Xah
xa*@xahlee.org
∑ http://xahlee.org/
Sybren Stuvel wrote:

Xah Lee enlightened us with:

but after a minute of scanning, please someone tell me what the fuck
is it talking about?

How difficult is it? The first line of the Gzip class explains it all
to me: "Constructo r for the GzipFile class, which simulates most of
the methods of a file object"

[Peter Wang]

>> Constructor for the GzipFile class, which simulates most of the methods

of a file object, with the exception of the readinto() and truncate()
yeah, blab blab blab. what the fuck are you talking about? So, how to
use it?

um... presumably you type "zippedfile = GzipFile(...)" and depending on
whether you are creating a new file, or extracting an existing
GzipFile. the documentation says:
The new class instance is based on fileobj, which can be a regular file, a
StringIO object, or any other object which simulates a file. It defaults to
None, in which case filename is opened to provide a file object."
so i guess in your case you would want to do "zippedfile =
GzipFile("myfil e.gz")".

When fileobj is not None, the filename argument is only used to be
included in the gzip file header, which may includes the original
filename of the uncompressed file. It defaults to the filename of
fileobj, if discernible; otherwise, it defaults to the empty string,
and in this case the original filename is not included in the header.

what the fuck??

when you "gzip -d myfile.gz", the resultant output name might not be
"myfile". The uncompressed name can be stored in the gzip header, and
so if you provide both a fileobj argument and a filename argument to
the GzipFile constructor, it will use fileobj for the data stream and
just place filename into the header (as opposed to opening the file
"filename") .

The mode argument can be any of 'r', 'rb', 'a', 'ab', 'w', or 'wb',
depending on whether the file will be read or written. The default is
the mode of fileobj if discernible; otherwise, the default is 'rb'. If
not given, the 'b' flag will be added to the mode to ensure the file is
opened in binary mode for cross-platform portability.

discernible? so, what the fuck are exactly these modes? can't you
describe them concretely?

these are the same modes that are used in just about every single
programming language when it comes to opening files. these modes are
described in the Python tutorial and in the core Python documentation
about files and file I/O. It should not be surprising, therefore, that
GzipFile, which "simulates most of the methods of a file object",
should have the same semantics when it comes to file modes.

it is actually quite shocking to me that someone with 10 years of
computing experience would not know what "rb" and "rb" mean in the
context of opening files in a programming language.

Calling a GzipFile object's close() method does not close fileobj,
since you might wish to append more material after the compressed data.
This also allows you to pass a StringIO object opened for writing as
fileobj, and retrieve the resulting memory buffer using the StringIO
object's getvalue() method.

huh? append more material? pass a StringIO? and memory buffer?

you see, not everyone who uses GzipFile will be decompressing files.
sometimes they will be *compressing* file data. in this case, it's
very possible that they want to compress data going over a network
stream, or embed some gzipped into the middle of their own file format.
GzipFile doesn't make any assumptions about what the user is going to
do with the gzipped data or the file object that the Gzip module is
writing into/reading from.
Motherfucking 90% of programers using this module really just want to
compress or decompress a file.

I disagree. I think a whopping (non-motherfucking) 100% of programmers
using this module want to compress or decompress file data. If someone
just wants to decompress a file, wouldn't they just do:

import os
os.system("gzip -d filename.gz")

The GzipFile module is meant to be used by folks who want to gzip or
gunzip file data in a programmatic function. It's not meant to be a
drop-in, shell-scripting replacement for the gzip command.

-peter

On 1 Sep 2005 07:24:26 -0700
Peter Wang wrote:

Constructor for the GzipFile class, which simulates most of the methods
of a file object, with the exception of the readinto() and truncate()

yeah, blab blab blab. what the fuck are you talking about? So, how to
use it?

and in this case the original filename is not included in the header.

what the fuck??

since you might wish to append more material after the compressed data.
This also allows you to pass a StringIO object opened for writing as
fileobj, and retrieve the resulting memory buffer using the StringIO
object's getvalue() method.

huh? append more material? pass a StringIO? and memory buffer?

you see, not everyone who uses GzipFile will be decompressing files.

Am I the only one who thinks you are talking with some perverted kind of
emacs-doctor-like or elise-like computer program?

--
jk

[plainsane]

Peter Maas wrote:

Xah Lee schrieb:

today i need to use Python to decompress gzip files.

since i'm familiar with Python doc and have 10 years of computing
experience with 4 years in unix admin and perl, i have quickly located
the official doc:

http://python.org/doc/2.4.1/lib/module-gzip.html

but after a minute of scanning, please someone tell me what the fuck is
it talking about?

Fuck the Python programing morons.

Thanks.

I just need to decompress files. Is it:

import gzip;
gzip.GzipFile("/Users/xah/access_log.1.gz ");

can someone put a example into that fucking doc so that people don't
have to wade thru whatever fuck it is trying to sound big?

Here's the example:
import gzip

# read fucked
fuckedfile = gzip.GzipFile(' somefile.gz')
content = fuckedfile.read ()
fuckedfile.clos e()

# write unfucked
unfuckedfile = file('somefile' ,'w')
unfuckedfile.wr ite(content)
unfuckedfile.cl ose()

Please feel free to insert this fucking example into the fucking docs.

Have a nice ... eh fucking day :)

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Maas, M+R Infosysteme, D-52070 Aachen, Tel [phone]
E-mail 'cGV0ZXIubWFhc0 BtcGx1c3IuZGU=\ n'.decode('base 64')
-------------------------------------------------------------------

yes yes yes, i love this "fucking" post...nice "fucking" response
man!!!!

[pspierce]

Peter Maas wrote:

Xah Lee schrieb:

today i need to use Python to decompress gzip files.

since i'm familiar with Python doc and have 10 years of computing
experience with 4 years in unix admin and perl, i have quickly located
the official doc:

http://python.org/doc/2.4.1/lib/module-gzip.html

but after a minute of scanning, please someone tell me what the fuck is
it talking about?

Fuck the Python programing morons.

Thanks.

I just need to decompress files. Is it:

import gzip;
gzip.GzipFile("/Users/xah/access_log.1.gz ");

can someone put a example into that fucking doc so that people don't
have to wade thru whatever fuck it is trying to sound big?

Here's the example:
import gzip

# read fucked
fuckedfile = gzip.GzipFile(' somefile.gz')
content = fuckedfile.read ()
fuckedfile.clos e()

# write unfucked
unfuckedfile = file('somefile' ,'w')
unfuckedfile.wr ite(content)
unfuckedfile.cl ose()

Please feel free to insert this fucking example into the fucking docs.

Have a nice ... eh fucking day :)

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Maas, M+R Infosysteme, D-52070 Aachen, Tel [phone]
E-mail 'cGV0ZXIubWFhc0 BtcGx1c3IuZGU=\ n'.decode('base 64')
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The word has now completely lost any meaning for me.