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Subject: Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help?
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2016 20:41:51 -0400
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Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:107929

On Sat, Apr 30, 2016, at 19:51, cs@zip.com.au wrote:
> _When_ they want a pager.

Why would they need an environment variable at all in that case, rather
than explicitly invoking the pager by name?

To me, *not* having PAGER=cat signifies that someone *does* want a
pager. That may be a crappy convention, but it's the one we're stuck
with.

> And setting PAGER=cat before invoking interactive python is no better,
> because 
> it will screw with $PAGER in any subprocess spawned from that
> environment.

But why would you not *also* want PAGER=cat in those subprocesses? You
don't want those things to spawn pagers that you haven't asked
explicitly for, either, right?

I don't get the "It's terrible if I run man or git it won't open a
pager, but I don't want pydoc to use a pager" viewpoint. It just doesn't
make any sense to me.

> Let me recite one of my favourite rules of thumb:
> 
>   If it can't be turned off, it's not a feature. - Karl Heuer

You turn it off by setting PAGER=cat. The fact that pydoc uses a pager
is the *same* feature as the fact that git and man do.