\documentclass{howto}
+\usepackage{distutils}
+
% $Id$
\title{What's New in Python 2.1}
-\release{0.06}
+\release{0.07}
\author{A.M. Kuchling}
\authoraddress{\email{amk1@bigfoot.com}}
\begin{document}
\end{seealso}
%======================================================================
+\section{PEP 232: Function Attributes}
+
+In Python 2.1, functions can now have arbitrary information attached
+to them. People were often using docstrings to hold information about
+functions and methods, because the \code{__doc__} attribute was the
+only way of attaching any information to a function. For example, in
+the Zope Web application server, functions are marked as safe for
+public access by having a docstring, and in John Aycock's SPARK
+parsing framework, docstrings hold parts of the BNF grammar to be
+parsed. This overloading is unfortunate, since docstrings are really
+intended to hold a function's documentation; for example, it means you
+can't properly document functions intended for private use in Zope.
+
+Arbitrary attributes can now be set and retrieved on functions using the
+regular Python syntax:
+
+\begin{verbatim}
+def f(): pass
+
+f.publish = 1
+f.secure = 1
+f.grammar = "A ::= B (C D)*"
+\end{verbatim}
+
+The dictionary containing attributes can be accessed as the function's
+\member{__dict__}. Unlike the \member{__dict__} attribute of class
+instances, in functions you can actually assign a new dictionary to
+\member{__dict__}, though the new value is restricted to a regular
+Python dictionary; you \emph{can't} be tricky and set it to a
+\class{UserDict} instance, or any other random object that behaves
+like a mapping.
+
+\begin{seealso}
+
+\seepep{232}{Function Attributes}{Written and implemented by Barry
+Warsaw.}
+
+\end{seealso}
+
+
+%======================================================================
+
\section{PEP 235: Case-Insensitive Platforms and \keyword{import}}
Some operating systems have filesystems that are case-insensitive,
When using the Python interpreter interactively, the output of
commands is displayed using the built-in \function{repr()} function.
-In Python 2.1, the variable \module{sys.displayhook} can be set to a
+In Python 2.1, the variable \function{sys.displayhook} can be set to a
callable object which will be called instead of \function{repr()}.
For example, you can set it to a special pretty-printing function:
\end{seealso}
+%======================================================================
+\section{PEP 241: Metadata in Python Packages}
+
+A common complaint from Python users is that there's no single catalog
+of all the Python modules in existence. T.~Middleton's Vaults of
+Parnassus at \url{http://www.vex.net/parnassus} are the largest
+catalog of Python modules, but registering software at the Vaults is
+optional, and many people don't bother.
+
+As a first small step toward fixing the problem, Python software
+packaged using the Distutils \command{sdist} command will include a
+file named \file{PKG-INFO} containing information about the package
+such as its name, version, and author (metadata, in cataloguing
+terminology). PEP 241 contains the full list of fields that can be
+present in the \file{PKG-INFO} file. As people began to package their
+software using Python 2.1, more and more packages will include
+metadata, making it possible to build automated cataloguing systems
+and experiment with them. With the result experience, perhaps it'll
+be possible to design a really good catalog and then build support for
+it into Python 2.2. For example, the Distutils \command{sdist}
+and \command{bdist_*} commands could support a \option{upload} option
+that would automatically upload your package to a catalog server.
+
+You can start creating packages containing \file{PKG-INFO} even if
+you're not using Python 2.1, since a new release of the Distutils will
+be made for users of earlier Python versions. Version 1.0.2 of the
+Distutils includes the changes described in PEP 241, as well as
+various bugfixes and enhancements. It will be available from
+the Distutils SIG at \url{http://www.python.org/sigs/distutils-sig}.
+
+% XXX update when I actually release 1.0.2
+
+\begin{seealso}
+
+\seepep{241}{Metadata for Python Software Packages}{Written and
+implemented by A.M. Kuchling.}
+
+\seepep{243}{Module Repository Upload Mechanism}{Written by Sean
+Reifschneider, this draft PEP describes a proposed mechanism for uploading
+Python packages to a central server.
+}
+
+\end{seealso}
+
%======================================================================
\section{New and Improved Modules}
\file{pydoc} quickly becomes addictive; try it out!
-\item The \module{doctest} module provides a testing framework based
-on running embedded examples in docstrings and comparing the results
-against the expected output. Contributed by Tim Peters.
+\item Two different modules for unit testing were added to the
+standard library. The \module{doctest} module, contributed by Tim
+Peters, provides a testing framework based on running embedded
+examples in docstrings and comparing the results against the expected
+output. PyUnit, contributed by Steve Purcell, is a unit testing
+framework inspired by JUnit, which was in turn an adaptation of Kent
+Beck's Smalltalk testing framework. See
+\url{http://pyunit.sourceforge.net/} for more information about
+PyUnit.
\item The \module{difflib} module contains a class,
\class{SequenceMatcher}, which compares two sequences and computes the
any encoding supported by Python, and various bugfixes for SAX, DOM,
and the \module{minidom} module.
+\item Ping also contributed another hook for handling uncaught
+exceptions. \function{sys.excepthook} can be set to a callable
+object. When an exception isn't caught by any
+\keyword{try}...\keyword{except} blocks, the exception will be passed
+to \function{sys.excepthook}, which can then do whatever it likes. At
+the Ninth Python Conference, Ping demonstrated an application for this
+hook: printing an extended traceback that not only lists the stack
+frames, but also lists the function arguments and the local variables
+for each frame.
+
\item Various functions in the \module{time} module, such as
\function{asctime()} and \function{localtime()}, require a floating
point argument containing the time in seconds since the epoch. The
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