``True`` then all line endings will be converted to ``'\n'`` as described
for the :term:`universal newlines` `'U'`` mode argument to :func:`open`.
- If *shell* is :const:`True`, the specified command will be executed through
- the shell. This can be useful if you are using Python primarily for the
+ If *shell* is ``True``, the specified command will be executed through
+ the shell. This can be useful if you are using Python primarily for the
enhanced control flow it offers over most system shells and still want
- access to other shell features such as filename wildcards, shell pipes and
- environment variable expansion.
+ convenient access to other shell features such as shell pipes, filename
+ wildcards, environment variable expansion, and expansion of ``~`` to a
+ user's home directory. However, note that Python itself offers
+ implementations of many shell-like features (in particular, :mod:`glob`,
+ :mod:`fnmatch`, :func:`os.walk`, :func:`os.path.expandvars`,
+ :func:`os.path.expanduser`, and :mod:`shutil`).
.. warning::