Explain why we flush_buffer() for Python print(...) output (#18420)

Spawning from using this code elsewhere and not knowing why it's there.

Based on this article and @reivilibre's experience mentioning
`PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1`,

> #### programming languages where the default “print” statement buffers
> 
> Also, here are a few programming language where the default print
statement will buffer output when writing to a pipe, and some ways to
disable buffering if you want:
> 
> - Python (disable with `python -u`, or `PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1`, or
`sys.stdout.reconfigure(line_buffering=False)`, or `print(x,
flush=True)`)
> 
> _--
https://jvns.ca/blog/2024/11/29/why-pipes-get-stuck-buffering/#programming-languages-where-the-default-print-statement-buffers_
This commit is contained in:
Eric Eastwood
2025-05-13 10:40:49 -05:00
committed by GitHub
parent 6e910e2b2c
commit a3bbd7eeab
3 changed files with 11 additions and 0 deletions

1
changelog.d/18420.misc Normal file
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@@ -0,0 +1 @@
Explain why we `flush_buffer()` for Python `print(...)` output.

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@@ -352,6 +352,11 @@ def error(txt: str) -> NoReturn:
def flush_buffers() -> None:
"""
Python's `print()` buffers output by default, typically waiting until ~8KB
accumulates. This method can be used to flush the buffers so we can see the output
of any print statements so far.
"""
sys.stdout.flush()
sys.stderr.flush()

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@@ -22,6 +22,11 @@ def error(txt: str) -> NoReturn:
def flush_buffers() -> None:
"""
Python's `print()` buffers output by default, typically waiting until ~8KB
accumulates. This method can be used to flush the buffers so we can see the output
of any print statements so far.
"""
sys.stdout.flush()
sys.stderr.flush()