Fixed example to load the startup file from a script (didn't test for the
file's existance).
Removed some XXX comments about extension modules which support pickling.
Added text from AMK about the readline and rlcompleter modules.
Thanks, AMK!
diff --git a/Doc/tut/tut.tex b/Doc/tut/tut.tex
index 0307970..f8b198d 100644
--- a/Doc/tut/tut.tex
+++ b/Doc/tut/tut.tex
@@ -317,15 +317,18 @@
this file.
If you want to read an additional start-up file from the current
-directory, you can program this in the global start-up file, e.g.
-\samp{execfile('.pythonrc')}. If you want to use the startup file
-in a script, you must write this explicitly in the script:
+directory, you can program this in the global start-up file,
+e.g.\ \samp{execfile('.pythonrc')}\indexii{.pythonrc.py}{file}. If
+you want to use the startup file in a script, you must do this
+explicitly in the script:
\begin{verbatim}
import os
-execfile(os.environ['PYTHONSTARTUP'])
+if os.path.isfile(os.environ['PYTHONSTARTUP']):
+ execfile(os.environ['PYTHONSTARTUP'])
\end{verbatim}
+
\chapter{An Informal Introduction to Python}
\label{informal}
@@ -2313,8 +2316,7 @@
same program; the technical term for this is a \dfn{persistent}
object. Because \module{pickle} is so widely used, many authors who
write Python extensions take care to ensure that new data types such
-as matrices, XXX more examples needed XXX, can be properly pickled and
-unpickled.
+as matrices can be properly pickled and unpickled.
@@ -3454,6 +3456,28 @@
in your \file{\$HOME/.inputrc}. (Of course, this makes it hard to type
indented continuation lines...)
+Automatic completion of variable and module names is optionally
+available. To enable it in the interpreter's interactive mode, add
+the following to your \file{\$HOME/.pythonrc} file:% $ <- bow to font-lock
+\indexii{.pythonrc.py}{file}%
+\refstmodindex{rlcompleter}%
+\refbimodindex{readline}
+
+\begin{verbatim}
+import rlcompleter, readline
+readline.parse_and_bind('tab: complete')
+\end{verbatim}
+
+This binds the TAB key to the completion function, so hitting the TAB
+key twice suggests completions; it looks at Python statement names,
+the current local variables, and the available module names. For
+dotted expressions such as \code{string.a}, it will evaluate the the
+expression up to the final \character{.} and then suggest completions
+from the attributes of the resulting object. Note that this may
+execute application-defined code if an object with a
+\method{__getattr__()} method is part of the expression.
+
+
\section{Commentary}
\label{commentary}