.. _path_fd:
-* For some functions, the *path* argument can be not only a string giving a path
+* **specifying a file descriptor:**
+ For some functions, the *path* argument can be not only a string giving a path
name, but also a file descriptor. The function will then operate on the file
referred to by the descriptor. (For POSIX systems, Python will call the
``f...`` version of the function.)
.. _dir_fd:
-* For functions with a *dir_fd* parameter: If *dir_fd* is not ``None``, it
+* **paths relative to directory descriptors:** If *dir_fd* is not ``None``, it
should be a file descriptor referring to a directory, and the path to operate
on should be relative; path will then be relative to that directory. If the
path is absolute, *dir_fd* is ignored. (For POSIX systems, Python will call
- the ``...at`` version of the function.)
+ the ``...at`` or ``f...at`` version of the function.)
You can check whether or not *dir_fd* is supported on your platform using
:data:`os.supports_dir_fd`. If it is unavailable, using it will raise a
.. _follow_symlinks:
-* For functions ith a *follow_symlinks* parameter: If *follow_symlinks* is
+* **not following symlinks:** If *follow_symlinks* is
``False``, and the last element of the path to operate on is a symbolic link,
the function will operate on the symbolic link itself instead of the file the
link points to. (For POSIX systems, Python will call the ``l...`` version of
Change the current working directory to *path*.
- This function can support :ref:`working on a file descriptor <path_fd>`. The
+ This function can support :ref:`specifying a file descriptor <path_fd>`. The
descriptor must refer to an opened directory, not an open file.
Availability: Unix, Windows.
This function can be called with a bytes or string argument, and returns
filenames of the same datatype.
- This function can also support :ref:`specifying an open file descriptor
- <path_fd>` (referring to a directory).
+ This function can also support :ref:`specifying a file descriptor
+ <path_fd>`; the file descriptor must refer to a directory.
Availability: Unix, Windows.
included in ``pathconf_names``, an :exc:`OSError` is raised with
:const:`errno.EINVAL` for the error number.
- This function can support :ref:`specifying an open file descriptor
+ This function can support :ref:`specifying a file descriptor
<path_fd>`.
Availability: Unix.
:attr:`st_mtime`, :attr:`st_ctime`. More items may be added at the end by
some implementations.
- This function can support :ref:`specifying an open file descriptor
+ This function can support :ref:`specifying a file descriptor
<path_fd>`, :ref:`specifying a file descriptor <path_fd>` and :ref:`not
following symlinks <follow_symlinks>`.