merge 2.7.9 release branch
diff --git a/Doc/library/json.rst b/Doc/library/json.rst
index caee953..db9df0a 100644
--- a/Doc/library/json.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/json.rst
@@ -8,9 +8,11 @@
 .. versionadded:: 2.6
 
 `JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) <http://json.org>`_, specified by
-:rfc:`4627`, is a lightweight data interchange format based on a subset of
-`JavaScript <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript>`_ syntax (`ECMA-262 3rd
-edition <http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST-ARCH/ECMA-262,%203rd%20edition,%20December%201999.pdf>`_).
+:rfc:`7159` (which obsoletes :rfc:`4627`) and by
+`ECMA-404 <http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-404.htm>`_,
+is a lightweight data interchange format inspired by
+`JavaScript <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript>`_ object literal syntax
+(although it is not a strict subset of JavaScript [#rfc-errata]_ ).
 
 :mod:`json` exposes an API familiar to users of the standard library
 :mod:`marshal` and :mod:`pickle` modules.
@@ -485,18 +487,18 @@
                 mysocket.write(chunk)
 
 
-Standard Compliance
--------------------
+Standard Compliance and Interoperability
+----------------------------------------
 
-The JSON format is specified by :rfc:`4627`.  This section details this
-module's level of compliance with the RFC.  For simplicity,
-:class:`JSONEncoder` and :class:`JSONDecoder` subclasses, and parameters other
-than those explicitly mentioned, are not considered.
+The JSON format is specified by :rfc:`7159` and by
+`ECMA-404 <http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-404.htm>`_.
+This section details this module's level of compliance with the RFC.
+For simplicity, :class:`JSONEncoder` and :class:`JSONDecoder` subclasses, and
+parameters other than those explicitly mentioned, are not considered.
 
 This module does not comply with the RFC in a strict fashion, implementing some
 extensions that are valid JavaScript but not valid JSON.  In particular:
 
-- Top-level non-object, non-array values are accepted and output;
 - Infinite and NaN number values are accepted and output;
 - Repeated names within an object are accepted, and only the value of the last
   name-value pair is used.
@@ -508,48 +510,30 @@
 Character Encodings
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
-The RFC recommends that JSON be represented using either UTF-8, UTF-16, or
-UTF-32, with UTF-8 being the default.  Accordingly, this module uses UTF-8 as
-the default for its *encoding* parameter.
+The RFC requires that JSON be represented using either UTF-8, UTF-16, or
+UTF-32, with UTF-8 being the recommended default for maximum interoperability.
+Accordingly, this module uses UTF-8 as the default for its *encoding* parameter.
 
 This module's deserializer only directly works with ASCII-compatible encodings;
 UTF-16, UTF-32, and other ASCII-incompatible encodings require the use of
 workarounds described in the documentation for the deserializer's *encoding*
 parameter.
 
-The RFC also non-normatively describes a limited encoding detection technique
-for JSON texts; this module's deserializer does not implement this or any other
-kind of encoding detection.
-
 As permitted, though not required, by the RFC, this module's serializer sets
 *ensure_ascii=True* by default, thus escaping the output so that the resulting
 strings only contain ASCII characters.
 
+The RFC prohibits adding a byte order mark (BOM) to the start of a JSON text,
+and this module's serializer does not add a BOM to its output.
+The RFC permits, but does not require, JSON deserializers to ignore an initial
+BOM in their input.  This module's deserializer raises a :exc:`ValueError`
+when an initial BOM is present.
 
-Top-level Non-Object, Non-Array Values
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-The RFC specifies that the top-level value of a JSON text must be either a
-JSON object or array (Python :class:`dict` or :class:`list`).  This module's
-deserializer also accepts input texts consisting solely of a
-JSON null, boolean, number, or string value::
-
-   >>> just_a_json_string = '"spam and eggs"'  # Not by itself a valid JSON text
-   >>> json.loads(just_a_json_string)
-   u'spam and eggs'
-
-This module itself does not include a way to request that such input texts be
-regarded as illegal.  Likewise, this module's serializer also accepts single
-Python :data:`None`, :class:`bool`, numeric, and :class:`str`
-values as input and will generate output texts consisting solely of a top-level
-JSON null, boolean, number, or string value without raising an exception::
-
-   >>> neither_a_list_nor_a_dict = u"spam and eggs"
-   >>> json.dumps(neither_a_list_nor_a_dict)  # The result is not a valid JSON text
-   '"spam and eggs"'
-
-This module's serializer does not itself include a way to enforce the
-aforementioned constraint.
+The RFC does not explicitly forbid JSON strings which contain byte sequences
+that don't correspond to valid Unicode characters (e.g. unpaired UTF-16
+surrogates), but it does note that they may cause interoperability problems.
+By default, this module accepts and outputs (when present in the original
+:class:`str`) codepoints for such sequences.
 
 
 Infinite and NaN Number Values
@@ -579,7 +563,7 @@
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 The RFC specifies that the names within a JSON object should be unique, but
-does not specify how repeated names in JSON objects should be handled.  By
+does not mandate how repeated names in JSON objects should be handled.  By
 default, this module does not raise an exception; instead, it ignores all but
 the last name-value pair for a given name::
 
@@ -588,3 +572,48 @@
    {u'x': 3}
 
 The *object_pairs_hook* parameter can be used to alter this behavior.
+
+
+Top-level Non-Object, Non-Array Values
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The old version of JSON specified by the obsolete :rfc:`4627` required that
+the top-level value of a JSON text must be either a JSON object or array
+(Python :class:`dict` or :class:`list`), and could not be a JSON null,
+boolean, number, or string value.  :rfc:`7159` removed that restriction, and
+this module does not and has never implemented that restriction in either its
+serializer or its deserializer.
+
+Regardless, for maximum interoperability, you may wish to voluntarily adhere
+to the restriction yourself.
+
+
+Implementation Limitations
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Some JSON deserializer implementations may set limits on:
+
+* the size of accepted JSON texts
+* the maximum level of nesting of JSON objects and arrays
+* the range and precision of JSON numbers
+* the content and maximum length of JSON strings
+
+This module does not impose any such limits beyond those of the relevant
+Python datatypes themselves or the Python interpreter itself.
+
+When serializing to JSON, beware any such limitations in applications that may
+consume your JSON.  In particular, it is common for JSON numbers to be
+deserialized into IEEE 754 double precision numbers and thus subject to that
+representation's range and precision limitations.  This is especially relevant
+when serializing Python :class:`int` values of extremely large magnitude, or
+when serializing instances of "exotic" numerical types such as
+:class:`decimal.Decimal`.
+
+
+.. rubric:: Footnotes
+
+.. [#rfc-errata] As noted in `the errata for RFC 7159
+   <http://www.rfc-editor.org/errata_search.php?rfc=7159>`_,
+   JSON permits literal U+2028 (LINE SEPARATOR) and
+   U+2029 (PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR) characters in strings, whereas JavaScript
+   (as of ECMAScript Edition 5.1) does not.
diff --git a/Doc/library/pydoc.rst b/Doc/library/pydoc.rst
index 494a48d..57521f7 100644
--- a/Doc/library/pydoc.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/pydoc.rst
@@ -53,6 +53,10 @@
    executed on that occasion.  Use an ``if __name__ == '__main__':`` guard to
    only execute code when a file is invoked as a script and not just imported.
 
+When printing output to the console, :program:`pydoc` attempts to paginate the
+output for easier reading.  If the :envvar:`PAGER` environment variable is set,
+:program:`pydoc` will use its value as a pagination program.
+
 Specifying a ``-w`` flag before the argument will cause HTML documentation
 to be written out to a file in the current directory, instead of displaying text
 on the console.
diff --git a/Lib/_abcoll.py b/Lib/_abcoll.py
index 3d567e3..0385627 100644
--- a/Lib/_abcoll.py
+++ b/Lib/_abcoll.py
@@ -548,23 +548,25 @@
             If E present and lacks .keys() method, does:     for (k, v) in E: D[k] = v
             In either case, this is followed by: for k, v in F.items(): D[k] = v
         '''
-        if len(args) > 2:
-            raise TypeError("update() takes at most 2 positional "
-                            "arguments ({} given)".format(len(args)))
-        elif not args:
-            raise TypeError("update() takes at least 1 argument (0 given)")
+        if not args:
+            raise TypeError("descriptor 'update' of 'MutableMapping' object "
+                            "needs an argument")
         self = args[0]
-        other = args[1] if len(args) >= 2 else ()
-
-        if isinstance(other, Mapping):
-            for key in other:
-                self[key] = other[key]
-        elif hasattr(other, "keys"):
-            for key in other.keys():
-                self[key] = other[key]
-        else:
-            for key, value in other:
-                self[key] = value
+        args = args[1:]
+        if len(args) > 1:
+            raise TypeError('update expected at most 1 arguments, got %d' %
+                            len(args))
+        if args:
+            other = args[0]
+            if isinstance(other, Mapping):
+                for key in other:
+                    self[key] = other[key]
+            elif hasattr(other, "keys"):
+                for key in other.keys():
+                    self[key] = other[key]
+            else:
+                for key, value in other:
+                    self[key] = value
         for key, value in kwds.items():
             self[key] = value
 
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_all.py b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_all.py
index caef1ac..004e357 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_all.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_all.py
@@ -412,9 +412,6 @@
         def get_dbp(self) :
             return self._db
 
-    import string
-    string.letters=[chr(i) for i in xrange(65,91)]
-
     bsddb._db.DBEnv_orig = bsddb._db.DBEnv
     bsddb._db.DB_orig = bsddb._db.DB
     if bsddb.db.version() <= (4, 3) :
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_basics.py b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_basics.py
index 3c57be4..1459d36 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_basics.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_basics.py
@@ -999,7 +999,7 @@
         for x in "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog".split():
             d2.put(x, self.makeData(x))
 
-        for x in string.letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d3.put(x, x*70)
 
         d1.sync()
@@ -1047,7 +1047,7 @@
             if verbose:
                 print rec
             rec = c3.next()
-        self.assertEqual(count, len(string.letters))
+        self.assertEqual(count, len(string.ascii_letters))
 
 
         c1.close()
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_dbshelve.py b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_dbshelve.py
index c3701e1..e5609c5 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_dbshelve.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_dbshelve.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
             return bytes(key, "iso8859-1")  # 8 bits
 
     def populateDB(self, d):
-        for x in string.letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d[self.mk('S' + x)] = 10 * x           # add a string
             d[self.mk('I' + x)] = ord(x)           # add an integer
             d[self.mk('L' + x)] = [x] * 10         # add a list
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_get_none.py b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_get_none.py
index 8763b54..541044c 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_get_none.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_get_none.py
@@ -26,14 +26,14 @@
         d.open(self.filename, db.DB_BTREE, db.DB_CREATE)
         d.set_get_returns_none(1)
 
-        for x in string.letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d.put(x, x * 40)
 
         data = d.get('bad key')
         self.assertEqual(data, None)
 
-        data = d.get(string.letters[0])
-        self.assertEqual(data, string.letters[0]*40)
+        data = d.get(string.ascii_letters[0])
+        self.assertEqual(data, string.ascii_letters[0]*40)
 
         count = 0
         c = d.cursor()
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
             rec = c.next()
 
         self.assertEqual(rec, None)
-        self.assertEqual(count, len(string.letters))
+        self.assertEqual(count, len(string.ascii_letters))
 
         c.close()
         d.close()
@@ -54,14 +54,14 @@
         d.open(self.filename, db.DB_BTREE, db.DB_CREATE)
         d.set_get_returns_none(0)
 
-        for x in string.letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d.put(x, x * 40)
 
         self.assertRaises(db.DBNotFoundError, d.get, 'bad key')
         self.assertRaises(KeyError, d.get, 'bad key')
 
-        data = d.get(string.letters[0])
-        self.assertEqual(data, string.letters[0]*40)
+        data = d.get(string.ascii_letters[0])
+        self.assertEqual(data, string.ascii_letters[0]*40)
 
         count = 0
         exceptionHappened = 0
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
 
         self.assertNotEqual(rec, None)
         self.assertTrue(exceptionHappened)
-        self.assertEqual(count, len(string.letters))
+        self.assertEqual(count, len(string.ascii_letters))
 
         c.close()
         d.close()
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_queue.py b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_queue.py
index d3a0c8b..5fa22ee 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_queue.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_queue.py
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-@unittest.skip("fails on Windows; see issue 22943")
 class SimpleQueueTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self.filename = get_new_database_path()
@@ -37,17 +36,17 @@
             print "before appends" + '-' * 30
             pprint(d.stat())
 
-        for x in string.letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d.append(x * 40)
 
-        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.letters))
+        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.ascii_letters))
 
         d.put(100, "some more data")
         d.put(101, "and some more ")
         d.put(75,  "out of order")
         d.put(1,   "replacement data")
 
-        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.letters)+3)
+        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.ascii_letters)+3)
 
         if verbose:
             print "before close" + '-' * 30
@@ -108,17 +107,17 @@
             print "before appends" + '-' * 30
             pprint(d.stat())
 
-        for x in string.letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d.append(x * 40)
 
-        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.letters))
+        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.ascii_letters))
 
         d.put(100, "some more data")
         d.put(101, "and some more ")
         d.put(75,  "out of order")
         d.put(1,   "replacement data")
 
-        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.letters)+3)
+        self.assertEqual(len(d), len(string.ascii_letters)+3)
 
         if verbose:
             print "before close" + '-' * 30
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_recno.py b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_recno.py
index fb6956a..b0e30de 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/test/test_recno.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/test/test_recno.py
@@ -4,12 +4,11 @@
 import os, sys
 import errno
 from pprint import pprint
+import string
 import unittest
 
 from test_all import db, test_support, verbose, get_new_environment_path, get_new_database_path
 
-letters = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ'
-
 
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@
 
         d.open(self.filename, db.DB_RECNO, db.DB_CREATE)
 
-        for x in letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             recno = d.append(x * 60)
             self.assertIsInstance(recno, int)
             self.assertGreaterEqual(recno, 1)
@@ -270,7 +269,7 @@
         d.set_re_pad(45)  # ...test both int and char
         d.open(self.filename, db.DB_RECNO, db.DB_CREATE)
 
-        for x in letters:
+        for x in string.ascii_letters:
             d.append(x * 35)    # These will be padded
 
         d.append('.' * 40)      # this one will be exact
diff --git a/Lib/collections.py b/Lib/collections.py
index 8831f0b..1dcd233 100644
--- a/Lib/collections.py
+++ b/Lib/collections.py
@@ -35,12 +35,17 @@
     # The sentinel element never gets deleted (this simplifies the algorithm).
     # Each link is stored as a list of length three:  [PREV, NEXT, KEY].
 
-    def __init__(self, *args, **kwds):
+    def __init__(*args, **kwds):
         '''Initialize an ordered dictionary.  The signature is the same as
         regular dictionaries, but keyword arguments are not recommended because
         their insertion order is arbitrary.
 
         '''
+        if not args:
+            raise TypeError("descriptor '__init__' of 'OrderedDict' object "
+                            "needs an argument")
+        self = args[0]
+        args = args[1:]
         if len(args) > 1:
             raise TypeError('expected at most 1 arguments, got %d' % len(args))
         try:
@@ -438,7 +443,7 @@
     #   http://code.activestate.com/recipes/259174/
     #   Knuth, TAOCP Vol. II section 4.6.3
 
-    def __init__(self, iterable=None, **kwds):
+    def __init__(*args, **kwds):
         '''Create a new, empty Counter object.  And if given, count elements
         from an input iterable.  Or, initialize the count from another mapping
         of elements to their counts.
@@ -449,8 +454,15 @@
         >>> c = Counter(a=4, b=2)                   # a new counter from keyword args
 
         '''
+        if not args:
+            raise TypeError("descriptor '__init__' of 'Counter' object "
+                            "needs an argument")
+        self = args[0]
+        args = args[1:]
+        if len(args) > 1:
+            raise TypeError('expected at most 1 arguments, got %d' % len(args))
         super(Counter, self).__init__()
-        self.update(iterable, **kwds)
+        self.update(*args, **kwds)
 
     def __missing__(self, key):
         'The count of elements not in the Counter is zero.'
@@ -501,7 +513,7 @@
         raise NotImplementedError(
             'Counter.fromkeys() is undefined.  Use Counter(iterable) instead.')
 
-    def update(self, iterable=None, **kwds):
+    def update(*args, **kwds):
         '''Like dict.update() but add counts instead of replacing them.
 
         Source can be an iterable, a dictionary, or another Counter instance.
@@ -521,6 +533,14 @@
         # contexts.  Instead, we implement straight-addition.  Both the inputs
         # and outputs are allowed to contain zero and negative counts.
 
+        if not args:
+            raise TypeError("descriptor 'update' of 'Counter' object "
+                            "needs an argument")
+        self = args[0]
+        args = args[1:]
+        if len(args) > 1:
+            raise TypeError('expected at most 1 arguments, got %d' % len(args))
+        iterable = args[0] if args else None
         if iterable is not None:
             if isinstance(iterable, Mapping):
                 if self:
@@ -536,7 +556,7 @@
         if kwds:
             self.update(kwds)
 
-    def subtract(self, iterable=None, **kwds):
+    def subtract(*args, **kwds):
         '''Like dict.update() but subtracts counts instead of replacing them.
         Counts can be reduced below zero.  Both the inputs and outputs are
         allowed to contain zero and negative counts.
@@ -552,6 +572,14 @@
         -1
 
         '''
+        if not args:
+            raise TypeError("descriptor 'subtract' of 'Counter' object "
+                            "needs an argument")
+        self = args[0]
+        args = args[1:]
+        if len(args) > 1:
+            raise TypeError('expected at most 1 arguments, got %d' % len(args))
+        iterable = args[0] if args else None
         if iterable is not None:
             self_get = self.get
             if isinstance(iterable, Mapping):
diff --git a/Lib/hashlib.py b/Lib/hashlib.py
index 4a411bc..bbd06b9 100644
--- a/Lib/hashlib.py
+++ b/Lib/hashlib.py
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@
 
         def prf(msg, inner=inner, outer=outer):
             # PBKDF2_HMAC uses the password as key. We can re-use the same
-            # digest objects and and just update copies to skip initialization.
+            # digest objects and just update copies to skip initialization.
             icpy = inner.copy()
             ocpy = outer.copy()
             icpy.update(msg)
diff --git a/Lib/httplib.py b/Lib/httplib.py
index 7c27906..1224989 100644
--- a/Lib/httplib.py
+++ b/Lib/httplib.py
@@ -1070,18 +1070,22 @@
             kwds["buffering"] = True;
         response = self.response_class(*args, **kwds)
 
-        response.begin()
-        assert response.will_close != _UNKNOWN
-        self.__state = _CS_IDLE
+        try:
+            response.begin()
+            assert response.will_close != _UNKNOWN
+            self.__state = _CS_IDLE
 
-        if response.will_close:
-            # this effectively passes the connection to the response
-            self.close()
-        else:
-            # remember this, so we can tell when it is complete
-            self.__response = response
+            if response.will_close:
+                # this effectively passes the connection to the response
+                self.close()
+            else:
+                # remember this, so we can tell when it is complete
+                self.__response = response
 
-        return response
+            return response
+        except:
+            response.close()
+            raise
 
 
 class HTTP:
diff --git a/Lib/pydoc.py b/Lib/pydoc.py
index dfa1f8e..0647d1e 100755
--- a/Lib/pydoc.py
+++ b/Lib/pydoc.py
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@
 of all available modules.
 
 Run "pydoc -p <port>" to start an HTTP server on a given port on the
-local machine to generate documentation web pages.
+local machine to generate documentation web pages.  Port number 0 can be
+used to get an arbitrary unused port.
 
 For platforms without a command line, "pydoc -g" starts the HTTP server
 and also pops up a little window for controlling it.
@@ -1445,7 +1446,13 @@
         getchar = lambda: sys.stdin.readline()[:-1][:1]
 
     try:
-        r = inc = os.environ.get('LINES', 25) - 1
+        try:
+            h = int(os.environ.get('LINES', 0))
+        except ValueError:
+            h = 0
+        if h <= 1:
+            h = 25
+        r = inc = h - 1
         sys.stdout.write(join(lines[:inc], '\n') + '\n')
         while lines[r:]:
             sys.stdout.write('-- more --')
@@ -2098,7 +2105,6 @@
         def __init__(self, port, callback):
             host = 'localhost'
             self.address = (host, port)
-            self.url = 'http://%s:%d/' % (host, port)
             self.callback = callback
             self.base.__init__(self, self.address, self.handler)
 
@@ -2111,6 +2117,7 @@
 
         def server_activate(self):
             self.base.server_activate(self)
+            self.url = 'http://%s:%d/' % (self.address[0], self.server_port)
             if self.callback: self.callback(self)
 
     DocServer.base = BaseHTTPServer.HTTPServer
@@ -2384,7 +2391,8 @@
     Search for a keyword in the synopsis lines of all available modules.
 
 %s -p <port>
-    Start an HTTP server on the given port on the local machine.
+    Start an HTTP server on the given port on the local machine.  Port
+    number 0 can be used to get an arbitrary unused port.
 
 %s -g
     Pop up a graphical interface for finding and serving documentation.
diff --git a/Lib/shutil.py b/Lib/shutil.py
index e12f791..e78a575 100644
--- a/Lib/shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/shutil.py
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@
     archive_name = base_name + '.tar' + compress_ext.get(compress, '')
     archive_dir = os.path.dirname(archive_name)
 
-    if not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
+    if archive_dir and not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
         if logger is not None:
             logger.info("creating %s", archive_dir)
         if not dry_run:
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@
     zip_filename = base_name + ".zip"
     archive_dir = os.path.dirname(base_name)
 
-    if not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
+    if archive_dir and not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
         if logger is not None:
             logger.info("creating %s", archive_dir)
         if not dry_run:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_collections.py b/Lib/test/test_collections.py
index 20e0667..cd27227 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_collections.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_collections.py
@@ -905,6 +905,28 @@
         self.assertEqual(c.setdefault('e', 5), 5)
         self.assertEqual(c['e'], 5)
 
+    def test_init(self):
+        self.assertEqual(list(Counter(self=42).items()), [('self', 42)])
+        self.assertEqual(list(Counter(iterable=42).items()), [('iterable', 42)])
+        self.assertEqual(list(Counter(iterable=None).items()), [('iterable', None)])
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter, 42)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter, (), ())
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter.__init__)
+
+    def test_update(self):
+        c = Counter()
+        c.update(self=42)
+        self.assertEqual(list(c.items()), [('self', 42)])
+        c = Counter()
+        c.update(iterable=42)
+        self.assertEqual(list(c.items()), [('iterable', 42)])
+        c = Counter()
+        c.update(iterable=None)
+        self.assertEqual(list(c.items()), [('iterable', None)])
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter().update, 42)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter().update, {}, {})
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter.update)
+
     def test_copying(self):
         # Check that counters are copyable, deepcopyable, picklable, and
         #have a repr/eval round-trip
@@ -1006,6 +1028,16 @@
         c.subtract('aaaabbcce')
         self.assertEqual(c, Counter(a=-1, b=0, c=-1, d=1, e=-1))
 
+        c = Counter()
+        c.subtract(self=42)
+        self.assertEqual(list(c.items()), [('self', -42)])
+        c = Counter()
+        c.subtract(iterable=42)
+        self.assertEqual(list(c.items()), [('iterable', -42)])
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter().subtract, 42)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter().subtract, {}, {})
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, Counter.subtract)
+
 class TestOrderedDict(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_init(self):
@@ -1019,8 +1051,11 @@
                                           c=3, e=5).items()), pairs)                # mixed input
 
         # make sure no positional args conflict with possible kwdargs
-        self.assertEqual(inspect.getargspec(OrderedDict.__dict__['__init__']).args,
-                         ['self'])
+        self.assertEqual(list(OrderedDict(self=42).items()), [('self', 42)])
+        self.assertEqual(list(OrderedDict(other=42).items()), [('other', 42)])
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, OrderedDict, 42)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, OrderedDict, (), ())
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, OrderedDict.__init__)
 
         # Make sure that direct calls to __init__ do not clear previous contents
         d = OrderedDict([('a', 1), ('b', 2), ('c', 3), ('d', 44), ('e', 55)])
@@ -1065,6 +1100,10 @@
         self.assertEqual(list(d.items()),
             [('a', 1), ('b', 2), ('c', 3), ('d', 4), ('e', 5), ('f', 6), ('g', 7)])
 
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, OrderedDict().update, 42)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, OrderedDict().update, (), ())
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, OrderedDict.update)
+
     def test_abc(self):
         self.assertIsInstance(OrderedDict(), MutableMapping)
         self.assertTrue(issubclass(OrderedDict, MutableMapping))
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_docxmlrpc.py b/Lib/test/test_docxmlrpc.py
index 80d1803..a1a1fcf 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_docxmlrpc.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_docxmlrpc.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 PORT = None
 
 def make_request_and_skipIf(condition, reason):
-    # If we skip the test, we have to make a request because the
+    # If we skip the test, we have to make a request because
     # the server created in setUp blocks expecting one to come in.
     if not condition:
         return lambda func: func
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_httplib.py b/Lib/test/test_httplib.py
index 3e7a57e..a73a28b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_httplib.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_httplib.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
         self.text = text
         self.fileclass = fileclass
         self.data = ''
+        self.file_closed = False
         self.host = host
         self.port = port
 
@@ -34,7 +35,13 @@
     def makefile(self, mode, bufsize=None):
         if mode != 'r' and mode != 'rb':
             raise httplib.UnimplementedFileMode()
-        return self.fileclass(self.text)
+        # keep the file around so we can check how much was read from it
+        self.file = self.fileclass(self.text)
+        self.file.close = self.file_close #nerf close ()
+        return self.file
+
+    def file_close(self):
+        self.file_closed = True
 
     def close(self):
         pass
@@ -433,6 +440,22 @@
         self.assertEqual(resp.read(), '')
         self.assertTrue(resp.isclosed())
 
+    def test_error_leak(self):
+        # Test that the socket is not leaked if getresponse() fails
+        conn = httplib.HTTPConnection('example.com')
+        response = []
+        class Response(httplib.HTTPResponse):
+            def __init__(self, *pos, **kw):
+                response.append(self)  # Avoid garbage collector closing the socket
+                httplib.HTTPResponse.__init__(self, *pos, **kw)
+        conn.response_class = Response
+        conn.sock = FakeSocket('')  # Emulate server dropping connection
+        conn.request('GET', '/')
+        self.assertRaises(httplib.BadStatusLine, conn.getresponse)
+        self.assertTrue(response)
+        #self.assertTrue(response[0].closed)
+        self.assertTrue(conn.sock.file_closed)
+
 class OfflineTest(TestCase):
     def test_responses(self):
         self.assertEqual(httplib.responses[httplib.NOT_FOUND], "Not Found")
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_readline.py b/Lib/test/test_readline.py
index e009952..588043e 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_readline.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_readline.py
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@
     That's why the tests cover only a small subset of the interface.
     """
 
-    @unittest.skipIf(not hasattr(readline, 'clear_history'),
-                     "The history update test cannot be run because the "
-                     "clear_history method is not available.")
+    @unittest.skipUnless(hasattr(readline, "clear_history"),
+                         "The history update test cannot be run because the "
+                         "clear_history method is not available.")
     def testHistoryUpdates(self):
         readline.clear_history()
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
index 0e81145..bcabe75 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
@@ -581,6 +581,29 @@
         finally:
             unregister_archive_format('xxx')
 
+    def test_make_tarfile_in_curdir(self):
+        # Issue #21280
+        root_dir = self.mkdtemp()
+        saved_dir = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(root_dir)
+            self.assertEqual(make_archive('test', 'tar'), 'test.tar')
+            self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile('test.tar'))
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(saved_dir)
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(zlib, "Requires zlib")
+    def test_make_zipfile_in_curdir(self):
+        # Issue #21280
+        root_dir = self.mkdtemp()
+        saved_dir = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(root_dir)
+            self.assertEqual(make_archive('test', 'zip'), 'test.zip')
+            self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile('test.zip'))
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(saved_dir)
+
     def test_register_archive_format(self):
 
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, register_archive_format, 'xxx', 1)
diff --git a/Misc/ACKS b/Misc/ACKS
index d44240f..5372ee7 100644
--- a/Misc/ACKS
+++ b/Misc/ACKS
@@ -1010,6 +1010,7 @@
 Juan David Ibáñez Palomar
 Jan Palus
 Yongzhi Pan
+Martin Panter
 Mathias Panzenböck
 M. Papillon
 Peter Parente
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 01f23ef..6b32e7f 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -2,6 +2,43 @@
 Python News
 +++++++++++
 
+What's New in Python 2.7.10?
+============================
+
+*Release date: XXXX-XX-XX*
+
+Core and Builtins
+-----------------
+
+Library
+-------
+
+- Issue #21032. Fixed socket leak if HTTPConnection.getresponse() fails.
+  Original patch by Martin Panter.
+
+- Issue #22609: Constructors and update methods of mapping classes in the
+  collections module now accept the self keyword argument.
+
+Documentation
+-------------
+
+- Issue #21514: The documentation of the json module now refers to new JSON RFC
+  7159 instead of obsoleted RFC 4627.
+
+Tools/Demos
+-----------
+
+- Issue #22314: pydoc now works when the LINES environment variable is set.
+
+- Issue #18905: "pydoc -p 0" now outputs actually used port.  Based on patch by
+  Wieland Hoffmann.
+
+Tests
+-----
+
+- Issue #22943: bsddb tests are locale independend now.
+
+
 What's New in Python 2.7.9?
 ===========================
 
@@ -85,7 +122,7 @@
 
 - Issue #22776: Brought excluded code into the scope of a try block in
   SysLogHandler.emit().
- 
+
 - Issue #17381: Fixed ranges handling in case-insensitive regular expressions.
 
 - Issue #19329: Optimized compiling charsets in regular expressions.
@@ -280,6 +317,23 @@
 IDLE
 ----
 
+- Issue #3068: Add Idle extension configuration dialog to Options menu.
+  Changes are written to HOME/.idlerc/config-extensions.cfg.
+  Original patch by Tal Einat.
+
+- Issue #16233: A module browser (File : Class Browser, Alt+C) requires a
+  editor window with a filename.  When Class Browser is requested otherwise,
+  from a shell, output window, or 'Untitled' editor, Idle no longer displays
+  an error box.  It now pops up an  Open Module box (Alt+M). If a valid name
+  is entered and a module is opened, a corresponding browser is also opened.
+
+- Issue #4832: Save As to type Python files automatically adds .py to the
+  name you enter (even if your system does not display it).  Some systems
+  automatically add .txt when type is Text files.
+
+- Issue #21986: Code objects are not normally pickled by the pickle module.
+  To match this, they are no longer pickled when running under Idle.
+
 - Issue #22221: IDLE now ignores the source encoding declaration on the second
   line if the first line contains anything except a comment.
 
diff --git a/Modules/posixmodule.c b/Modules/posixmodule.c
index 4d0c8fa..379423c 100644
--- a/Modules/posixmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/posixmodule.c
@@ -8496,7 +8496,7 @@
 
 
 /* This code is used to ensure that the tables of configuration value names
- * are in sorted order as required by conv_confname(), and also to build the
+ * are in sorted order as required by conv_confname(), and also to build
  * the exported dictionaries that are used to publish information about the
  * names available on the host platform.
  *
diff --git a/Objects/typeobject.c b/Objects/typeobject.c
index d0ac3ac..619ac9b 100644
--- a/Objects/typeobject.c
+++ b/Objects/typeobject.c
@@ -4798,7 +4798,7 @@
                      "%s.__new__(%s) is not safe, use %s.__new__()",
                      type->tp_name,
                      subtype->tp_name,
-                     staticbase == NULL ? "?" : staticbase->tp_name);
+                     staticbase->tp_name);
         return NULL;
     }
 
diff --git a/Python/pystrtod.c b/Python/pystrtod.c
index 859af43..ae6ab9c 100644
--- a/Python/pystrtod.c
+++ b/Python/pystrtod.c
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@
 
    On overflow (e.g., when trying to convert '1e500' on an IEEE 754 machine),
    if overflow_exception is NULL then +-Py_HUGE_VAL is returned, and no Python
-   exception is raised.  Otherwise, overflow_exception should point to a
+   exception is raised.  Otherwise, overflow_exception should point to
    a Python exception, this exception will be raised, -1.0 will be returned,
    and *endptr will point just past the end of the converted value.
 
diff --git a/Python/random.c b/Python/random.c
index 0776bfc..1e5776d 100644
--- a/Python/random.c
+++ b/Python/random.c
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@
 }
 
 /* Fill buffer with size pseudo-random bytes from the operating system random
-   number generator (RNG). It is suitable for for most cryptographic purposes
+   number generator (RNG). It is suitable for most cryptographic purposes
    except long living private keys for asymmetric encryption.
 
    Return 0 on success, raise an exception and return -1 on error. */
diff --git a/Python/thread.c b/Python/thread.c
index dd333e8..c54670d 100644
--- a/Python/thread.c
+++ b/Python/thread.c
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@
         if (p->id == id && p->key == key)
             goto Done;
         /* Sanity check.  These states should never happen but if
-         * they do we must abort.  Otherwise we'll end up spinning in
+         * they do we must abort.  Otherwise we'll end up spinning
          * in a tight loop with the lock held.  A similar check is done
          * in pystate.c tstate_delete_common().  */
         if (p == prev_p)
diff --git a/Tools/msi/msi.py b/Tools/msi/msi.py
index 09105a2..074c9a5 100644
--- a/Tools/msi/msi.py
+++ b/Tools/msi/msi.py
@@ -912,9 +912,9 @@
                       ("Tk", "tk-8*", "license.terms"),
                       ("Tix", "tix-*", "license.terms")):
         out.write("\nThis copy of Python includes a copy of %s, which is licensed under the following terms:\n\n" % name)
-        dirs = glob.glob(srcdir+"/../"+pat)
+        dirs = glob.glob(srcdir+"/externals/"+pat)
         if not dirs:
-            raise ValueError, "Could not find "+srcdir+"/../"+pat
+            raise ValueError, "Could not find "+srcdir+"/externals/"+pat
         if len(dirs) > 2:
             raise ValueError, "Multiple copies of "+pat
         dir = dirs[0]
@@ -1019,6 +1019,8 @@
         # Add additional files
         dirs[dir]=lib
         lib.glob("*.txt")
+        lib.glob("*.whl")
+        lib.glob("*.0")
         if dir=='site-packages':
             lib.add_file("README.txt", src="README")
             continue
@@ -1043,6 +1045,7 @@
             lib.add_file("check_soundcard.vbs")
             lib.add_file("empty.vbs")
             lib.add_file("Sine-1000Hz-300ms.aif")
+            lib.add_file("revocation.crl")
             lib.glob("*.uue")
             lib.glob("*.pem")
             lib.glob("*.pck")
@@ -1117,7 +1120,7 @@
             lib.start_component("TkDLLs", tcltk)
             lib.add_file("_tkinter.pyd")
             dlls.append("_tkinter.pyd")
-            tcldir = os.path.normpath(srcdir+("/../tcltk%s/bin" % tclsuffix))
+            tcldir = os.path.normpath(srcdir+("/externals/tcltk%s/bin" % tclsuffix))
             for f in glob.glob1(tcldir, "*.dll"):
                 lib.add_file(f, src=os.path.join(tcldir, f))
     # check whether there are any unknown extensions
@@ -1141,7 +1144,7 @@
         lib.add_file('libpython%s%s.a' % (major, minor))
     if have_tcl:
         # Add Tcl/Tk
-        tcldirs = [(root, '../tcltk%s/lib' % tclsuffix, 'tcl')]
+        tcldirs = [(root, 'externals/tcltk%s/lib' % tclsuffix, 'tcl')]
         tcltk.set_current()
         while tcldirs:
             parent, phys, dir = tcldirs.pop()
diff --git a/Tools/msi/uuids.py b/Tools/msi/uuids.py
index 2e4dc31..d8c426a 100644
--- a/Tools/msi/uuids.py
+++ b/Tools/msi/uuids.py
@@ -66,4 +66,6 @@
     '2.7.7121':'{5E0D187D-238B-4e96-9C75-C4CF141F5385}', # 2.7.7rc1
     '2.7.7150':'{049CA433-77A0-4e48-AC76-180A282C4E10}', # 2.7.7
     '2.7.8150':'{61121B12-88BD-4261-A6EE-AB32610A56DD}', # 2.7.8
+    '2.7.9121':'{AAB1E8FF-6D00-4409-8F13-BE365AB92FFE}', # 2.7.9rc1
+    '2.7.9150':'{79F081BF-7454-43DB-BD8F-9EE596813232}', # 2.7.9
 }