Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!news.stack.nl!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed1a.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail
From: "Ivan Evstegneev" <webmailgroups@gmail.com>
To: "'Chris Angelico'" <rosuav@gmail.com>
References: <000001cff8e7$af51ef30$0df5cd90$@gmail.com> <CAPTjJmpw3qpJhwX=OG6wmkxKHOo8UQqFUc9ojnm0soa+mepnkQ@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <CAPTjJmpw3qpJhwX=OG6wmkxKHOo8UQqFUc9ojnm0soa+mepnkQ@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: RE: Understanding "help" command description syntax - explanation needed
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 14:31:56 +0200
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Thread-Index: AQFqwUtOTiOBaS6IGfXBQmSpnFhEWQI4TBDfnQqiXWA=
Content-Language: en-us
Cc: python-list@python.org
Precedence: list
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Message-ID: <mailman.15496.1415190761.18130.python-list@python.org>
Lines: 64
NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6
Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:80267

Chris,

You got my point exactly. ^_^ This is not about a "range" command =
itself, but those conventions.
Thanks.

Larry,

>> That's what I'm talking about (asking actually), where do you know it =
from?

>>I know it because I've been a programmer for 39 years.

I didn't intend to offence anyone here. Just asked a questions ^_^



-----Original Message-----
From: Python-list =
[mailto:python-list-bounces+webmailgroups=3Dgmail.com@python.org] On =
Behalf Of Chris Angelico
Sent: Wednesday, November 5, 2014 14:16
Cc: python-list@python.org
Subject: Re: Understanding "help" command description syntax - =
explanation needed

On Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 10:00 PM, Ivan Evstegneev =
<webmailgroups@gmail.com> wrote:
> range(start, stop[, step]) -> range object
>
> For instance, how do I need to understand that (start,stop[,step]) =20
> it=E2=80=99s just a three numbers?
>
> What do those brackets--> [,] mean?

The docs for range() in Python 3 do need improvement, as Mark said, =
although there's a bit more info than you see there. The exact text =
varies from one version to another, but underneath that first line =
should be something like:

"Return a virtual sequence of numbers from start to stop by step."

That should tell you a bit more, at least.

As to the brackets, they're a common convention meaning "optional".
This is much bigger than Python, so it's not actually explained =
anywhere. (I've no idea where someone would go to try to find info on =
these sorts of conventions. It's a little hard to do a Google search for =
symbols and their usages. But that's what mailing lists like this are =
for.) You can create a range object with two arguments (start and
stop) or three (start, stop, and step). When an argument is optional, it =
usually has a default, and in this case, the default step is 1 - every =
integer will be included.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. There are plenty of people here who =
know both Python and C (I'm one of them), and we're happy to help out.
And hey, you might find you can contribute a better piece of help text =
for something, and then we can make it better for every future wonderer =
:)

ChrisA
--
https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list