bpo-40833: Clarify Path.rename doc-string regarding relative paths (GH-20554)
diff --git a/Doc/library/pathlib.rst b/Doc/library/pathlib.rst
index 23486b6..9526a03 100644
--- a/Doc/library/pathlib.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/pathlib.rst
@@ -1008,6 +1008,10 @@
>>> target.open().read()
'some text'
+ The target path may be absolute or relative. Relative paths are interpreted
+ relative to the current working directory, *not* the directory of the Path
+ object.
+
.. versionchanged:: 3.8
Added return value, return the new Path instance.
@@ -1018,6 +1022,10 @@
instance pointing to *target*. If *target* points to an existing file or
directory, it will be unconditionally replaced.
+ The target path may be absolute or relative. Relative paths are interpreted
+ relative to the current working directory, *not* the directory of the Path
+ object.
+
.. versionchanged:: 3.8
Added return value, return the new Path instance.
diff --git a/Lib/pathlib.py b/Lib/pathlib.py
index babc443..147be2f 100644
--- a/Lib/pathlib.py
+++ b/Lib/pathlib.py
@@ -1366,17 +1366,26 @@
def rename(self, target):
"""
- Rename this path to the given path,
- and return a new Path instance pointing to the given path.
+ Rename this path to the target path.
+
+ The target path may be absolute or relative. Relative paths are
+ interpreted relative to the current working directory, *not* the
+ directory of the Path object.
+
+ Returns the new Path instance pointing to the target path.
"""
self._accessor.rename(self, target)
return self.__class__(target)
def replace(self, target):
"""
- Rename this path to the given path, clobbering the existing
- destination if it exists, and return a new Path instance
- pointing to the given path.
+ Rename this path to the target path, overwriting if that path exists.
+
+ The target path may be absolute or relative. Relative paths are
+ interpreted relative to the current working directory, *not* the
+ directory of the Path object.
+
+ Returns the new Path instance pointing to the target path.
"""
self._accessor.replace(self, target)
return self.__class__(target)