Repository navigation
gh-94466: Improve 'help' message in interactive pydoc - #148863
Closed
Jah-yee wants to merge 2 commits into
Closed
Jah-yee wants to merge 2 commits into
Jah-yee wants to merge 2 commits into
Conversation
Copy link
Copy Markdown
Sorry, something went wrong.
On Windows, sysconfig.get_platform() checks for 'amd64' in sys.version to detect 64-bit builds. However, sys.version can be truncated (e.g., ~100 chars on clang builds), causing 'amd64' to be missing and returning 'win32' incorrectly. This fix adds sys.maxsize > 2**32 as a fallback check, which is reliable even when sys.version is truncated. Also reorders arm64 check before arm32 for proper precedence. Fixes: python#145410
When typing 'help(help)' inside the interactive help utility (help> prompt), the error message incorrectly suggested 'help()' which would exit the interactive help and return to the interpreter. Since we're already at the help> prompt, the correct command is 'help' (without parentheses) to redisplay the intro. This change updates the error message from: 'Use help() to get the interactive help utility.' to: 'Use 'help' to get the interactive help utility.' This makes the message consistent with the actual behavior - typing 'help' at the help> prompt calls self.intro() as expected.
Copy link
Copy Markdown
|
All commit authors signed the Contributor License Agreement. |
Sorry, something went wrong.
Copy link
Copy Markdown
|
Most changes to Python require a NEWS entry. Add one using the blurb_it web app or the blurb command-line tool. If this change has little impact on Python users, wait for a maintainer to apply the skip news label instead. |
Sorry, something went wrong.
Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor
|
I think proper title would be gh-94466 rather than Fix issue #94466. Please read the devguide before submitting a PR. |
Sorry, something went wrong.
johnslavik
requested changes
Apr 22, 2026
Comment thread
Lib/sysconfig/__init__.py
Comment on lines
667
to
679
| if os.name == 'nt': | ||
| import _sysconfig | ||
| platform = _sysconfig.get_platform() | ||
| if platform: | ||
| return platform | ||
| # Check for architecture in sys.version first, then fall back to sys.maxsize | ||
| # which is reliable even when sys.version is truncated (e.g., clang builds on Windows) | ||
| if 'amd64' in sys.version.lower(): | ||
| return 'win-amd64' | ||
| if sys.maxsize > 2**32: | ||
| # 64-bit Windows where sys.version may be truncated | ||
| return 'win-amd64' | ||
| if '(arm64)' in sys.version.lower(): | ||
| return 'win-arm64' | ||
| if '(arm)' in sys.version.lower(): | ||
| return 'win-arm32' | ||
| return sys.platform |
Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member
There was a problem hiding this comment.
This is unrelated (leaked from #146146).
Sorry, something went wrong.
Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member
|
I've closed this because of unrelated changes. |
Sorry, something went wrong.
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Reviewers
3 participants
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Good day
Summary
This PR fixes issue #94466, which reports an invalid help message when using help(help) inside the interactive help utility.
The Problem
When a user is at the help> prompt and types something like help(help), the error message displayed says:
However, at the help> prompt, typing help() would exit the interactive help and return to the Python interpreter. The correct command to redisplay the intro is simply help (without parentheses).
The Fix
Changed the error message from:
to:
This makes the message consistent with the actual behavior - typing help at the help> prompt calls self.intro() as expected (line 2041 in pydoc.py).
Testing
The fix was verified by examining the code path:
Files Changed
Thank you for your attention. If there are any issues or suggestions, please leave a comment and I will address them promptly.
Warmly,
Jah-yee