Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder1.news.weretis.net!feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed6.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.004 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.99; '*S*': 0.00; '(even': 0.05; 'memory.': 0.05; 'shutil': 0.07; 'portable': 0.09; 'suggestions.': 0.09; 'cc:addr:python-list': 0.10; 'subject:not': 0.11; '(unlike': 0.16; 'call)': 0.16; 'subject:Why': 0.16; 'basically': 0.17; 'wrote:': 0.19; 'least': 0.20; 'option.': 0.21; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.22; "doesn't": 0.25; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.26; 'fastest': 0.27; 'said,': 0.27; 'cc:addr:python.org': 0.28; 'cc:2**2': 0.32; 'could': 0.32; 'file': 0.33; 'pm,': 0.34; 'problems': 0.34; 'subject:?': 0.35; 'subject:: ': 0.37; 'most': 0.61; 'chance': 0.66; 'potentially': 0.78; 'idiomatic': 0.84; 'hardest': 0.91 Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:21:25 -0500 From: Evan Driscoll User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686 (x86_64); en-US; rv:1.9.2.17) Gecko/20110414 Thunderbird/3.1.10 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Tycho Andersen Subject: Re: Re: No os.copy()? Why not? References: <38b3fc48-1d05-4373-b32e-64da95173864@pz2g2000pbc.googlegroups.com> <4F7B5397.8070405@druid.net> <20120403201032.GC2340@ccapuser-ubuntu.WICOURTS.GOV> In-Reply-To: <20120403201032.GC2340@ccapuser-ubuntu.WICOURTS.GOV> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Seen-By: mailfromd 4.1 sandstone.cs.wisc.edu Cc: python-list@python.org, john_ladasky@sbcglobal.net X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.12 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 18 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1333484492 news.xs4all.nl 6919 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:48980 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:22632 On 01/-10/-28163 01:59 PM, Tycho Andersen wrote: > Note, though, that this reads the whole file into memory. As many > others have said, shutil is the most idiomatic option. * most idiomatic * clearest in terms of showing intent * potentially fastest * hardest to screw up (unlike concatenating file names into a 'system' call) * has at least a snowball's chance of persisting metadata associated with the file (even if shutil doesn't now, it could theoretically change) * portable There's basically nothing NOT to like about shutil, and at least one significant problems with all the other suggestions. Evan