From f1b678d9e1639ed4b2f2bc1fa99c6c6f936a83ad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Raymond Hettinger Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 22:25:41 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Glossary cleanup --- Doc/glossary.rst | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++---------------- 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-) diff --git a/Doc/glossary.rst b/Doc/glossary.rst index 81c8a7d2cee..9a340fc1b9d 100644 --- a/Doc/glossary.rst +++ b/Doc/glossary.rst @@ -143,10 +143,9 @@ Glossary For more information about descriptors' methods, see :ref:`descriptors`. dictionary - An associative array, where arbitrary keys are mapped to values. The use - of :class:`dict` closely resembles that for :class:`list`, but the keys can - be any object with a :meth:`__hash__` function, not just integers. - Called a hash in Perl. + An associative array, where arbitrary keys are mapped to values. The keys + can be any object with :meth:`__hash__` function and :meth:`__eq__` + methods. Called a hash in Perl. docstring A string literal which appears as the first expression in a class, @@ -193,13 +192,20 @@ Glossary implement a method named :meth:`find_module`. See :pep:`302` for details. + floor division + Mathematical division that rounds down to nearest integer. The floor + division operator is ``//``. For example, the expression ``11 // 4`` + evaluates to ``2`` in contrast to the ``2.75`` returned by float true + division. Note that ``(-11) // 4`` is ``-3`` because that is ``-2.75`` + rounded *downward*. See :pep:`238`. + function A series of statements which returns some value to a caller. It can also be passed zero or more arguments which may be used in the execution of the body. See also :term:`argument` and :term:`method`. __future__ - A pseudo module which programmers can use to enable new language features + A pseudo-module which programmers can use to enable new language features which are not compatible with the current interpreter. For example, the expression ``11/4`` currently evaluates to ``2``. If the module in which it is executed had enabled *true division* by executing:: @@ -224,13 +230,13 @@ Glossary generator A function which returns an iterator. It looks like a normal function - except that values are returned to the caller using a :keyword:`yield` - statement instead of a :keyword:`return` statement. Generator functions - often contain one or more :keyword:`for` or :keyword:`while` loops which - :keyword:`yield` elements back to the caller. The function execution is - stopped at the :keyword:`yield` keyword (returning the result) and is - resumed there when the next element is requested by calling the - :meth:`next` method of the returned iterator. + except that it contains :keyword:`yield` statements for producing a series + a values usable in a for-loop or that can be retrieved one at a time with + the :func:`next` function. Each :keyword:`yield` temporarily suspends + processing, remembering the location execution state (including local + variables and pending try-statements). When the generator resumes, it + picks-up where it left-off (in contrast to functions which start fresh on + every invocation). .. index:: single: generator expression @@ -275,9 +281,7 @@ Glossary IDLE An Integrated Development Environment for Python. IDLE is a basic editor and interpreter environment which ships with the standard distribution of - Python. Good for beginners, it also serves as clear example code for - those wanting to implement a moderately sophisticated, multi-platform GUI - application. + Python. immutable An object with a fixed value. Immutable objects include numbers, strings and @@ -389,7 +393,8 @@ Glossary mapping A container object (such as :class:`dict`) which supports arbitrary key - lookups using the special method :meth:`__getitem__`. + lookups using the special method :meth:`__getitem__`. Mappings also + support :meth:`__len__`, :meth:`__iter__`, and :meth:`__contains__`. metaclass The class of a class. Class definitions create a class name, a class