IDLE: Better document close and exit.

[terryjreedy]

BPO	45296
Nosy	@terryjreedy, @taleinat, @ambv, @miss-islington, @E-Paine
PRs	@terryjreedy bpo-45296: Fix exit/quit message on Windows  #28577 [3.10] bpo-45296: Fix exit/quit message on Windows (GH-28577) #28600 [3.9] bpo-45296: Fix exit/quit message on Windows (GH-28577) #28601 bpo-45296: Clarify close, quit, and exit in IDLE #30936 [3.10] bpo-45296: Clarify close, quit, and exit in IDLE (GH-30936) #30944 [3.9] bpo-45296: Clarify close, quit, and exit in IDLE (GH-30936) #30945

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = 'https://github.com/terryjreedy'
closed_at = <Date 2022-01-27.03:56:18.530>
created_at = <Date 2021-09-26.20:52:27.906>
labels = ['expert-IDLE', 'type-bug', '3.9', '3.10', '3.11']
title = 'IDLE: Better document close and exit.'
updated_at = <Date 2022-01-27.03:56:18.529>
user = 'https://github.com/terryjreedy'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2022-01-27.03:56:18.529>
actor = 'terry.reedy'
assignee = 'terry.reedy'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2022-01-27.03:56:18.530>
closer = 'terry.reedy'
components = ['IDLE']
creation = <Date 2021-09-26.20:52:27.906>
creator = 'terry.reedy'
dependencies = []
files = []
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 45296
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 12.0
messages = ['402678', '402689', '402693', '402697', '402768', '402773', '402774', '402775', '402820', '411829', '411832', '411834']
nosy_count = 5.0
nosy_names = ['terry.reedy', 'taleinat', 'lukasz.langa', 'miss-islington', 'epaine']
pr_nums = ['28577', '28600', '28601', '30936', '30944', '30945']
priority = 'normal'
resolution = 'fixed'
stage = 'resolved'
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = 'behavior'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue45296'
versions = ['Python 3.9', 'Python 3.10', 'Python 3.11']

[terryjreedy]

On Windows:
>>> exit
'Use exit() or Ctrl-Z plus Return to exit'
>>> quit
'Use quit() or Ctrl-Z plus Return to exit'
>>> exit.eof
'Ctrl-Z plus Return'

On *nix, 'Ctrl-Z plus Return' is 'Ctrl-D (i.e, EOF)'
IDLE uses the latter even on Windows, and Ctrl-Z does not work.

Both exit and quit are instances of _sitebuiltins.Quitter

cpython/Lib/_sitebuiltins.py

Lines 13 to 26 in e14d5ae

	class Quitter(object):
	def __init__(self, name, eof):
	self.name = name
	self.eof = eof
	def __repr__(self):
	return 'Use %s() or %s to exit' % (self.name, self.eof)
	def __call__(self, code=None):
	# Shells like IDLE catch the SystemExit, but listen when their
	# stdin wrapper is closed.
	try:
	sys.stdin.close()
	except:
	pass
	raise SystemExit(code)

class Quitter(object):
def __init__(self, name, eof):
self.name = name
self.eof = eof
def __repr__(self):
return 'Use %s() or %s to exit' % (self.name, self.eof)
def __call__ [not relevant here]

We just need to replace current exit/quit.eof as indicated above on startup.

[terryjreedy]

Tal, Paine: should be use exactly the raw REPL message or something that might be clearer to beginners, like 'Ctrl-D (end-of-file)'?

[taleinat]

How about "Control-D (end-of-file, a.k.a. EOF)" or even just "Control-D"?

[E-Paine]

How about "Control-D (end-of-file, a.k.a. EOF)"

I doubt beginners care that it's EOF.

or even just "Control-D"

I'd be a lot more inclined towards this.

IDLE uses the latter [Ctrl-D] even on Windows, and Ctrl-Z does not work.

Is it worth considering changing this behaviour? IMO Ctrl-D is better for consistency between platforms, but wanted to throw the idea out there for discussion.

[ambv]

New changeset e649e06 by Terry Jan Reedy in branch 'main':
bpo-45296: Fix exit/quit message on Windows (GH-28577)
e649e06

[ambv]

New changeset 813fbba by Miss Islington (bot) in branch '3.9':
bpo-45296: Fix exit/quit message on Windows (GH-28577) (GH-28601)
813fbba

[ambv]

New changeset acd46fe by Miss Islington (bot) in branch '3.10':
bpo-45296: Fix exit/quit message on Windows (GH-28577) (GH-28600)
acd46fe

[ambv]

The wording chosen by Terry, i.e. "Ctrl-D (end-of-file)", is pretty clear. Merged and fixed. Thanks!

[terryjreedy]

Unfortunately, I have discovered, the new wording is better but only correct for IDLE when Shell is the only window.

On the file menu, I want to:
A. Change 'Close' to 'Close Window', so it is clear that 'Close'/Alt-F4 only close the window and not IDLE.
B. Also change 'Exit' to 'Exit IDLE' or maybe 'Quit IDLE', so it is clearer that this and Ctrl-Q close all windows and exit IDLE. Ctrl-Q is the default binding for 'close-all-windows', which users can configure.

Also, add a little in the doc entry for these choices. Or maybe open a separate issue to add the option name for all menu entry hotkeys that can be rebound. I don't know how many that is.

For a single window app, like the REPL, when not running in Command Prompt or the equivalent, closing the window and exiting the application are the same thing. The same is true when Shell is the only IDLE window. Closing Shell exits IDLE. After submitting the PR, I discovered that exit() and quit() only close Shell but do not exit IDLE if there are other windows. So the message should really be something like the following:

To close Shell, enter 'exit()', 'quit()', or 'Alt-F4'.
To exit IDLE, hit 'Ctrl-Q', hotkey for 'File >= Exit IDLE'.

This requires replacing the __repr__ method. Someone who rebinds either hotkey option, which I expect is rare, will have to remember that they did so if that happen to enter either 'exit' or 'quit' without parens.

The question of IDLE on Windows and <^Z Return> was discussed some years ago on an issue a vaguely remember but could not find. It was decided to either not add it or maybe to remove it, and key cross-platform ^D for closing Shell (and only Shell as it does nothing in Editor). I don't want to change that decision.

[terryjreedy]

New changeset fcde0bc by Terry Jan Reedy in branch 'main':
bpo-45296: Clarify close, quit, and exit in IDLE (GH-30936)
fcde0bc

[miss-islington]

New changeset bc7d96e by Miss Islington (bot) in branch '3.9':
bpo-45296: Clarify close, quit, and exit in IDLE (GH-30936)
bc7d96e

[terryjreedy]

New changeset 5acaad0 by Miss Islington (bot) in branch '3.10':
bpo-45296: Clarify close, quit, and exit in IDLE (GH-30936) (GH-30944)
5acaad0