DOC: Cleanup genfromtxt documentation a bit.

doc/source/user/basics.io.genfromtxt.rst

@@ -27,17 +27,19 @@ Defining the input
 ==================
 
 The only mandatory argument of :func:`~numpy.genfromtxt` is the source of
-the data.  It can be a string corresponding to the name of a local or
-remote file, or a file-like object with a :meth:`read` method (such as an
-actual file or a :class:`StringIO.StringIO` object), a list of strings, or
-a generator.  If the argument is the URL of a remote file, then the file
-is automatically downloaded to the current directory.
-
-The input file can be a text file or an archive.  Currently, the function
+the data. It can be a string, a list of strings, or a generator. If a
+single string is provided, it is assumed to be the name of a local or
+remote file, or a open file-like object with a :meth:`read` method, for
+example, a file or :class:`StringIO.StringIO` object. If a list of strings
+or a generator returning strings is provided, each string is treated as one
+line in a file.  When the URL of a remote file is passed, the file is
+automatically downloaded to the current directory and opened.
+
+Recognized file types are text files and archives.  Currently, the function
 recognizes :class:`gzip` and :class:`bz2` (`bzip2`) archives.  The type of
-the archive is determined by examining the extension of the file: if the
-filename ends with ``'.gz'``, a :class:`gzip` archive is expected; if it
-ends with ``'bz2'``, a :class:`bzip2` archive is assumed.
+the archive is determined from the extension of the file: if the filename
+ends with ``'.gz'``, a :class:`gzip` archive is expected; if it ends with
+``'bz2'``, a :class:`bzip2` archive is assumed.
 
 
 

numpy/lib/npyio.py

@@ -1271,12 +1271,11 @@ def genfromtxt(fname, dtype=float, comments='#', delimiter=None,
 
     Parameters
     ----------
-    fname : file, str, list of str
-        File, filename, list, or generator to read.  If the filename extension is
-        `.gz` or `.bz2`, the file is first decompressed. Note that
-        generators must return byte strings in Python 3k.
-        The strings in a list or strings produced by a generator are treated
-        as lines.
+    fname : file, str, list of str, generator
+        File, filename, list, or generator to read.  If the filename
+        extension is `.gz` or `.bz2`, the file is first decompressed. Mote
+        that generators must return byte strings in Python 3k.  The strings
+        in a list or produced by a generator are treated as lines.
     dtype : dtype, optional
         Data type of the resulting array.
         If None, the dtypes will be determined by the contents of each
@@ -1457,8 +1456,8 @@ def genfromtxt(fname, dtype=float, comments='#', delimiter=None,
             fhd = iter(fname)
     except TypeError:
         raise TypeError(
-            "fname must be a string, filehandle, list of strings, or generator. "
-            "(got %s instead)" % type(fname))
+            "fname must be a string, filehandle, list of strings, "
+            "or generator. Got %s instead." % type(fname))
 
     split_line = LineSplitter(delimiter=delimiter, comments=comments,
                               autostrip=autostrip)._handyman