symbian-qemu-0.9.1-12/python-2.6.1/Lib/platform.py
changeset 1 2fb8b9db1c86
--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/symbian-qemu-0.9.1-12/python-2.6.1/Lib/platform.py	Fri Jul 31 15:01:17 2009 +0100
@@ -0,0 +1,1570 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+
+""" This module tries to retrieve as much platform-identifying data as
+    possible. It makes this information available via function APIs.
+
+    If called from the command line, it prints the platform
+    information concatenated as single string to stdout. The output
+    format is useable as part of a filename.
+
+"""
+#    This module is maintained by Marc-Andre Lemburg <mal@egenix.com>.
+#    If you find problems, please submit bug reports/patches via the
+#    Python SourceForge Project Page and assign them to "lemburg".
+#
+#    Note: Please keep this module compatible to Python 1.5.2.
+#
+#    Still needed:
+#    * more support for WinCE
+#    * support for MS-DOS (PythonDX ?)
+#    * support for Amiga and other still unsupported platforms running Python
+#    * support for additional Linux distributions
+#
+#    Many thanks to all those who helped adding platform-specific
+#    checks (in no particular order):
+#
+#      Charles G Waldman, David Arnold, Gordon McMillan, Ben Darnell,
+#      Jeff Bauer, Cliff Crawford, Ivan Van Laningham, Josef
+#      Betancourt, Randall Hopper, Karl Putland, John Farrell, Greg
+#      Andruk, Just van Rossum, Thomas Heller, Mark R. Levinson, Mark
+#      Hammond, Bill Tutt, Hans Nowak, Uwe Zessin (OpenVMS support),
+#      Colin Kong, Trent Mick, Guido van Rossum, Anthony Baxter
+#
+#    History:
+#
+#    <see CVS and SVN checkin messages for history>
+#
+#    1.0.6 - added linux_distribution()
+#    1.0.5 - fixed Java support to allow running the module on Jython
+#    1.0.4 - added IronPython support
+#    1.0.3 - added normalization of Windows system name
+#    1.0.2 - added more Windows support
+#    1.0.1 - reformatted to make doc.py happy
+#    1.0.0 - reformatted a bit and checked into Python CVS
+#    0.8.0 - added sys.version parser and various new access
+#            APIs (python_version(), python_compiler(), etc.)
+#    0.7.2 - fixed architecture() to use sizeof(pointer) where available
+#    0.7.1 - added support for Caldera OpenLinux
+#    0.7.0 - some fixes for WinCE; untabified the source file
+#    0.6.2 - support for OpenVMS - requires version 1.5.2-V006 or higher and
+#            vms_lib.getsyi() configured
+#    0.6.1 - added code to prevent 'uname -p' on platforms which are
+#            known not to support it
+#    0.6.0 - fixed win32_ver() to hopefully work on Win95,98,NT and Win2k;
+#            did some cleanup of the interfaces - some APIs have changed
+#    0.5.5 - fixed another type in the MacOS code... should have
+#            used more coffee today ;-)
+#    0.5.4 - fixed a few typos in the MacOS code
+#    0.5.3 - added experimental MacOS support; added better popen()
+#            workarounds in _syscmd_ver() -- still not 100% elegant
+#            though
+#    0.5.2 - fixed uname() to return '' instead of 'unknown' in all
+#            return values (the system uname command tends to return
+#            'unknown' instead of just leaving the field emtpy)
+#    0.5.1 - included code for slackware dist; added exception handlers
+#            to cover up situations where platforms don't have os.popen
+#            (e.g. Mac) or fail on socket.gethostname(); fixed libc
+#            detection RE
+#    0.5.0 - changed the API names referring to system commands to *syscmd*;
+#            added java_ver(); made syscmd_ver() a private
+#            API (was system_ver() in previous versions) -- use uname()
+#            instead; extended the win32_ver() to also return processor
+#            type information
+#    0.4.0 - added win32_ver() and modified the platform() output for WinXX
+#    0.3.4 - fixed a bug in _follow_symlinks()
+#    0.3.3 - fixed popen() and "file" command invokation bugs
+#    0.3.2 - added architecture() API and support for it in platform()
+#    0.3.1 - fixed syscmd_ver() RE to support Windows NT
+#    0.3.0 - added system alias support
+#    0.2.3 - removed 'wince' again... oh well.
+#    0.2.2 - added 'wince' to syscmd_ver() supported platforms
+#    0.2.1 - added cache logic and changed the platform string format
+#    0.2.0 - changed the API to use functions instead of module globals
+#            since some action take too long to be run on module import
+#    0.1.0 - first release
+#
+#    You can always get the latest version of this module at:
+#
+#             http://www.egenix.com/files/python/platform.py
+#
+#    If that URL should fail, try contacting the author.
+
+__copyright__ = """
+    Copyright (c) 1999-2000, Marc-Andre Lemburg; mailto:mal@lemburg.com
+    Copyright (c) 2000-2008, eGenix.com Software GmbH; mailto:info@egenix.com
+
+    Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
+    documentation for any purpose and without fee or royalty is hereby granted,
+    provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
+    both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
+    supporting documentation or portions thereof, including modifications,
+    that you make.
+
+    EGENIX.COM SOFTWARE GMBH DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO
+    THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
+    FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL,
+    INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING
+    FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
+    NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
+    WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE !
+
+"""
+
+__version__ = '1.0.6'
+
+import sys,string,os,re
+
+### Platform specific APIs
+
+_libc_search = re.compile(r'(__libc_init)'
+                          '|'
+                          '(GLIBC_([0-9.]+))'
+                          '|'
+                          '(libc(_\w+)?\.so(?:\.(\d[0-9.]*))?)')
+
+def libc_ver(executable=sys.executable,lib='',version='',
+
+             chunksize=2048):
+
+    """ Tries to determine the libc version that the file executable
+        (which defaults to the Python interpreter) is linked against.
+
+        Returns a tuple of strings (lib,version) which default to the
+        given parameters in case the lookup fails.
+
+        Note that the function has intimate knowledge of how different
+        libc versions add symbols to the executable and thus is probably
+        only useable for executables compiled using gcc.
+
+        The file is read and scanned in chunks of chunksize bytes.
+
+    """
+    if hasattr(os.path, 'realpath'):
+        # Python 2.2 introduced os.path.realpath(); it is used
+        # here to work around problems with Cygwin not being
+        # able to open symlinks for reading
+        executable = os.path.realpath(executable)
+    f = open(executable,'rb')
+    binary = f.read(chunksize)
+    pos = 0
+    while 1:
+        m = _libc_search.search(binary,pos)
+        if not m:
+            binary = f.read(chunksize)
+            if not binary:
+                break
+            pos = 0
+            continue
+        libcinit,glibc,glibcversion,so,threads,soversion = m.groups()
+        if libcinit and not lib:
+            lib = 'libc'
+        elif glibc:
+            if lib != 'glibc':
+                lib = 'glibc'
+                version = glibcversion
+            elif glibcversion > version:
+                version = glibcversion
+        elif so:
+            if lib != 'glibc':
+                lib = 'libc'
+                if soversion > version:
+                    version = soversion
+                if threads and version[-len(threads):] != threads:
+                    version = version + threads
+        pos = m.end()
+    f.close()
+    return lib,version
+
+def _dist_try_harder(distname,version,id):
+
+    """ Tries some special tricks to get the distribution
+        information in case the default method fails.
+
+        Currently supports older SuSE Linux, Caldera OpenLinux and
+        Slackware Linux distributions.
+
+    """
+    if os.path.exists('/var/adm/inst-log/info'):
+        # SuSE Linux stores distribution information in that file
+        info = open('/var/adm/inst-log/info').readlines()
+        distname = 'SuSE'
+        for line in info:
+            tv = string.split(line)
+            if len(tv) == 2:
+                tag,value = tv
+            else:
+                continue
+            if tag == 'MIN_DIST_VERSION':
+                version = string.strip(value)
+            elif tag == 'DIST_IDENT':
+                values = string.split(value,'-')
+                id = values[2]
+        return distname,version,id
+
+    if os.path.exists('/etc/.installed'):
+        # Caldera OpenLinux has some infos in that file (thanks to Colin Kong)
+        info = open('/etc/.installed').readlines()
+        for line in info:
+            pkg = string.split(line,'-')
+            if len(pkg) >= 2 and pkg[0] == 'OpenLinux':
+                # XXX does Caldera support non Intel platforms ? If yes,
+                #     where can we find the needed id ?
+                return 'OpenLinux',pkg[1],id
+
+    if os.path.isdir('/usr/lib/setup'):
+        # Check for slackware verson tag file (thanks to Greg Andruk)
+        verfiles = os.listdir('/usr/lib/setup')
+        for n in range(len(verfiles)-1, -1, -1):
+            if verfiles[n][:14] != 'slack-version-':
+                del verfiles[n]
+        if verfiles:
+            verfiles.sort()
+            distname = 'slackware'
+            version = verfiles[-1][14:]
+            return distname,version,id
+
+    return distname,version,id
+
+_release_filename = re.compile(r'(\w+)[-_](release|version)')
+_lsb_release_version = re.compile(r'(.+)'
+                                   ' release '
+                                   '([\d.]+)'
+                                   '[^(]*(?:\((.+)\))?')
+_release_version = re.compile(r'([^0-9]+)'
+                               '(?: release )?'
+                               '([\d.]+)'
+                               '[^(]*(?:\((.+)\))?')
+
+# See also http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/11251.html
+# and http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Admin/release-files.html
+# and http://data.linux-ntfs.org/rpm/whichrpm
+# and http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man1/lsb_release.1.html
+
+_supported_dists = (
+    'SuSE', 'debian', 'fedora', 'redhat', 'centos',
+    'mandrake', 'mandriva', 'rocks', 'slackware', 'yellowdog', 'gentoo',
+    'UnitedLinux', 'turbolinux')
+
+def _parse_release_file(firstline):
+
+    # Parse the first line
+    m = _lsb_release_version.match(firstline)
+    if m is not None:
+        # LSB format: "distro release x.x (codename)"
+        return tuple(m.groups())
+
+    # Pre-LSB format: "distro x.x (codename)"
+    m = _release_version.match(firstline)
+    if m is not None:
+        return tuple(m.groups())
+
+    # Unkown format... take the first two words
+    l = string.split(string.strip(firstline))
+    if l:
+        version = l[0]
+        if len(l) > 1:
+            id = l[1]
+        else:
+            id = ''
+    return '', version, id
+
+def _test_parse_release_file():
+
+    for input, output in (
+        # Examples of release file contents:
+        ('SuSE Linux 9.3 (x86-64)', ('SuSE Linux ', '9.3', 'x86-64'))
+        ('SUSE LINUX 10.1 (X86-64)', ('SUSE LINUX ', '10.1', 'X86-64'))
+        ('SUSE LINUX 10.1 (i586)', ('SUSE LINUX ', '10.1', 'i586'))
+        ('Fedora Core release 5 (Bordeaux)', ('Fedora Core', '5', 'Bordeaux'))
+        ('Red Hat Linux release 8.0 (Psyche)', ('Red Hat Linux', '8.0', 'Psyche'))
+        ('Red Hat Linux release 9 (Shrike)', ('Red Hat Linux', '9', 'Shrike'))
+        ('Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 4 (Nahant)', ('Red Hat Enterprise Linux', '4', 'Nahant'))
+        ('CentOS release 4', ('CentOS', '4', None))
+        ('Rocks release 4.2.1 (Cydonia)', ('Rocks', '4.2.1', 'Cydonia'))
+        ):
+        parsed = _parse_release_file(input)
+        if parsed != output:
+            print (input, parsed)
+
+def linux_distribution(distname='', version='', id='',
+
+                       supported_dists=_supported_dists,
+                       full_distribution_name=1):
+
+    """ Tries to determine the name of the Linux OS distribution name.
+
+        The function first looks for a distribution release file in
+        /etc and then reverts to _dist_try_harder() in case no
+        suitable files are found.
+
+        supported_dists may be given to define the set of Linux
+        distributions to look for. It defaults to a list of currently
+        supported Linux distributions identified by their release file
+        name.
+
+        If full_distribution_name is true (default), the full
+        distribution read from the OS is returned. Otherwise the short
+        name taken from supported_dists is used.
+
+        Returns a tuple (distname,version,id) which default to the
+        args given as parameters.
+
+    """
+    try:
+        etc = os.listdir('/etc')
+    except os.error:
+        # Probably not a Unix system
+        return distname,version,id
+    etc.sort()
+    for file in etc:
+        m = _release_filename.match(file)
+        if m is not None:
+            _distname,dummy = m.groups()
+            if _distname in supported_dists:
+                distname = _distname
+                break
+    else:
+        return _dist_try_harder(distname,version,id)
+
+    # Read the first line
+    f = open('/etc/'+file, 'r')
+    firstline = f.readline()
+    f.close()
+    _distname, _version, _id = _parse_release_file(firstline)
+
+    if _distname and full_distribution_name:
+        distname = _distname
+    if _version:
+        version = _version
+    if _id:
+        id = _id
+    return distname, version, id
+
+# To maintain backwards compatibility:
+
+def dist(distname='',version='',id='',
+
+         supported_dists=_supported_dists):
+
+    """ Tries to determine the name of the Linux OS distribution name.
+
+        The function first looks for a distribution release file in
+        /etc and then reverts to _dist_try_harder() in case no
+        suitable files are found.
+
+        Returns a tuple (distname,version,id) which default to the
+        args given as parameters.
+
+    """
+    return linux_distribution(distname, version, id,
+                              supported_dists=supported_dists,
+                              full_distribution_name=0)
+
+class _popen:
+
+    """ Fairly portable (alternative) popen implementation.
+
+        This is mostly needed in case os.popen() is not available, or
+        doesn't work as advertised, e.g. in Win9X GUI programs like
+        PythonWin or IDLE.
+
+        Writing to the pipe is currently not supported.
+
+    """
+    tmpfile = ''
+    pipe = None
+    bufsize = None
+    mode = 'r'
+
+    def __init__(self,cmd,mode='r',bufsize=None):
+
+        if mode != 'r':
+            raise ValueError,'popen()-emulation only supports read mode'
+        import tempfile
+        self.tmpfile = tmpfile = tempfile.mktemp()
+        os.system(cmd + ' > %s' % tmpfile)
+        self.pipe = open(tmpfile,'rb')
+        self.bufsize = bufsize
+        self.mode = mode
+
+    def read(self):
+
+        return self.pipe.read()
+
+    def readlines(self):
+
+        if self.bufsize is not None:
+            return self.pipe.readlines()
+
+    def close(self,
+
+              remove=os.unlink,error=os.error):
+
+        if self.pipe:
+            rc = self.pipe.close()
+        else:
+            rc = 255
+        if self.tmpfile:
+            try:
+                remove(self.tmpfile)
+            except error:
+                pass
+        return rc
+
+    # Alias
+    __del__ = close
+
+def popen(cmd, mode='r', bufsize=None):
+
+    """ Portable popen() interface.
+    """
+    # Find a working popen implementation preferring win32pipe.popen
+    # over os.popen over _popen
+    popen = None
+    if os.environ.get('OS','') == 'Windows_NT':
+        # On NT win32pipe should work; on Win9x it hangs due to bugs
+        # in the MS C lib (see MS KnowledgeBase article Q150956)
+        try:
+            import win32pipe
+        except ImportError:
+            pass
+        else:
+            popen = win32pipe.popen
+    if popen is None:
+        if hasattr(os,'popen'):
+            popen = os.popen
+            # Check whether it works... it doesn't in GUI programs
+            # on Windows platforms
+            if sys.platform == 'win32': # XXX Others too ?
+                try:
+                    popen('')
+                except os.error:
+                    popen = _popen
+        else:
+            popen = _popen
+    if bufsize is None:
+        return popen(cmd,mode)
+    else:
+        return popen(cmd,mode,bufsize)
+
+def _norm_version(version, build=''):
+
+    """ Normalize the version and build strings and return a single
+        version string using the format major.minor.build (or patchlevel).
+    """
+    l = string.split(version,'.')
+    if build:
+        l.append(build)
+    try:
+        ints = map(int,l)
+    except ValueError:
+        strings = l
+    else:
+        strings = map(str,ints)
+    version = string.join(strings[:3],'.')
+    return version
+
+_ver_output = re.compile(r'(?:([\w ]+) ([\w.]+) '
+                         '.*'
+                         'Version ([\d.]+))')
+
+def _syscmd_ver(system='', release='', version='',
+
+               supported_platforms=('win32','win16','dos','os2')):
+
+    """ Tries to figure out the OS version used and returns
+        a tuple (system,release,version).
+
+        It uses the "ver" shell command for this which is known
+        to exists on Windows, DOS and OS/2. XXX Others too ?
+
+        In case this fails, the given parameters are used as
+        defaults.
+
+    """
+    if sys.platform not in supported_platforms:
+        return system,release,version
+
+    # Try some common cmd strings
+    for cmd in ('ver','command /c ver','cmd /c ver'):
+        try:
+            pipe = popen(cmd)
+            info = pipe.read()
+            if pipe.close():
+                raise os.error,'command failed'
+            # XXX How can I supress shell errors from being written
+            #     to stderr ?
+        except os.error,why:
+            #print 'Command %s failed: %s' % (cmd,why)
+            continue
+        except IOError,why:
+            #print 'Command %s failed: %s' % (cmd,why)
+            continue
+        else:
+            break
+    else:
+        return system,release,version
+
+    # Parse the output
+    info = string.strip(info)
+    m = _ver_output.match(info)
+    if m is not None:
+        system,release,version = m.groups()
+        # Strip trailing dots from version and release
+        if release[-1] == '.':
+            release = release[:-1]
+        if version[-1] == '.':
+            version = version[:-1]
+        # Normalize the version and build strings (eliminating additional
+        # zeros)
+        version = _norm_version(version)
+    return system,release,version
+
+def _win32_getvalue(key,name,default=''):
+
+    """ Read a value for name from the registry key.
+
+        In case this fails, default is returned.
+
+    """
+    try:
+        # Use win32api if available
+        from win32api import RegQueryValueEx
+    except ImportError:
+        # On Python 2.0 and later, emulate using _winreg
+        import _winreg
+        RegQueryValueEx = _winreg.QueryValueEx
+    try:
+        return RegQueryValueEx(key,name)
+    except:
+        return default
+
+def win32_ver(release='',version='',csd='',ptype=''):
+
+    """ Get additional version information from the Windows Registry
+        and return a tuple (version,csd,ptype) referring to version
+        number, CSD level and OS type (multi/single
+        processor).
+
+        As a hint: ptype returns 'Uniprocessor Free' on single
+        processor NT machines and 'Multiprocessor Free' on multi
+        processor machines. The 'Free' refers to the OS version being
+        free of debugging code. It could also state 'Checked' which
+        means the OS version uses debugging code, i.e. code that
+        checks arguments, ranges, etc. (Thomas Heller).
+
+        Note: this function works best with Mark Hammond's win32
+        package installed, but also on Python 2.3 and later. It
+        obviously only runs on Win32 compatible platforms.
+
+    """
+    # XXX Is there any way to find out the processor type on WinXX ?
+    # XXX Is win32 available on Windows CE ?
+    #
+    # Adapted from code posted by Karl Putland to comp.lang.python.
+    #
+    # The mappings between reg. values and release names can be found
+    # here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/sysinfo/base/osversioninfo_str.asp
+
+    # Import the needed APIs
+    try:
+        import win32api
+        from win32api import RegQueryValueEx, RegOpenKeyEx, \
+             RegCloseKey, GetVersionEx
+        from win32con import HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT, \
+             VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS, VER_NT_WORKSTATION
+    except ImportError:
+        # Emulate the win32api module using Python APIs
+        try:
+            sys.getwindowsversion
+        except AttributeError:
+            # No emulation possible, so return the defaults...
+            return release,version,csd,ptype
+        else:
+            # Emulation using _winreg (added in Python 2.0) and
+            # sys.getwindowsversion() (added in Python 2.3)
+            import _winreg
+            GetVersionEx = sys.getwindowsversion
+            RegQueryValueEx = _winreg.QueryValueEx
+            RegOpenKeyEx = _winreg.OpenKeyEx
+            RegCloseKey = _winreg.CloseKey
+            HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = _winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
+            VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS = 1
+            VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT = 2
+            VER_NT_WORKSTATION = 1
+
+    # Find out the registry key and some general version infos
+    maj,min,buildno,plat,csd = GetVersionEx()
+    version = '%i.%i.%i' % (maj,min,buildno & 0xFFFF)
+    if csd[:13] == 'Service Pack ':
+        csd = 'SP' + csd[13:]
+    if plat == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS:
+        regkey = 'SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion'
+        # Try to guess the release name
+        if maj == 4:
+            if min == 0:
+                release = '95'
+            elif min == 10:
+                release = '98'
+            elif min == 90:
+                release = 'Me'
+            else:
+                release = 'postMe'
+        elif maj == 5:
+            release = '2000'
+    elif plat == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT:
+        regkey = 'SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion'
+        if maj <= 4:
+            release = 'NT'
+        elif maj == 5:
+            if min == 0:
+                release = '2000'
+            elif min == 1:
+                release = 'XP'
+            elif min == 2:
+                release = '2003Server'
+            else:
+                release = 'post2003'
+        elif maj == 6:
+            if min == 0:
+                # Per http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724429.aspx
+                try:
+                    productType = GetVersionEx(1)[8]
+                except TypeError:
+                    # sys.getwindowsversion() doesn't take any arguments, so
+                    # we cannot detect 2008 Server that way.
+                    # XXX Add some other means of detecting 2008 Server ?!
+                    release = 'Vista'
+                else:
+                    if productType == VER_NT_WORKSTATION:
+                        release = 'Vista'
+                    else:
+                        release = '2008Server'
+            else:
+                release = 'post2008Server'
+    else:
+        if not release:
+            # E.g. Win3.1 with win32s
+            release = '%i.%i' % (maj,min)
+        return release,version,csd,ptype
+
+    # Open the registry key
+    try:
+        keyCurVer = RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, regkey)
+        # Get a value to make sure the key exists...
+        RegQueryValueEx(keyCurVer, 'SystemRoot')
+    except:
+        return release,version,csd,ptype
+
+    # Parse values
+    #subversion = _win32_getvalue(keyCurVer,
+    #                            'SubVersionNumber',
+    #                            ('',1))[0]
+    #if subversion:
+    #   release = release + subversion # 95a, 95b, etc.
+    build = _win32_getvalue(keyCurVer,
+                            'CurrentBuildNumber',
+                            ('',1))[0]
+    ptype = _win32_getvalue(keyCurVer,
+                           'CurrentType',
+                           (ptype,1))[0]
+
+    # Normalize version
+    version = _norm_version(version,build)
+
+    # Close key
+    RegCloseKey(keyCurVer)
+    return release,version,csd,ptype
+
+def _mac_ver_lookup(selectors,default=None):
+
+    from gestalt import gestalt
+    import MacOS
+    l = []
+    append = l.append
+    for selector in selectors:
+        try:
+            append(gestalt(selector))
+        except (RuntimeError, MacOS.Error):
+            append(default)
+    return l
+
+def _bcd2str(bcd):
+
+    return hex(bcd)[2:]
+
+def mac_ver(release='',versioninfo=('','',''),machine=''):
+
+    """ Get MacOS version information and return it as tuple (release,
+        versioninfo, machine) with versioninfo being a tuple (version,
+        dev_stage, non_release_version).
+
+        Entries which cannot be determined are set to the paramter values
+        which default to ''. All tuple entries are strings.
+
+        Thanks to Mark R. Levinson for mailing documentation links and
+        code examples for this function. Documentation for the
+        gestalt() API is available online at:
+
+           http://www.rgaros.nl/gestalt/
+
+    """
+    # Check whether the version info module is available
+    try:
+        import gestalt
+        import MacOS
+    except ImportError:
+        return release,versioninfo,machine
+    # Get the infos
+    sysv,sysu,sysa = _mac_ver_lookup(('sysv','sysu','sysa'))
+    # Decode the infos
+    if sysv:
+        major = (sysv & 0xFF00) >> 8
+        minor = (sysv & 0x00F0) >> 4
+        patch = (sysv & 0x000F)
+
+        if (major, minor) >= (10, 4):
+            # the 'sysv' gestald cannot return patchlevels
+            # higher than 9. Apple introduced 3 new
+            # gestalt codes in 10.4 to deal with this
+            # issue (needed because patch levels can
+            # run higher than 9, such as 10.4.11)
+            major,minor,patch = _mac_ver_lookup(('sys1','sys2','sys3'))
+            release = '%i.%i.%i' %(major, minor, patch)
+        else:
+            release = '%s.%i.%i' % (_bcd2str(major),minor,patch)
+
+    if sysu:
+        # NOTE: this block is left as documentation of the
+        # intention of this function, the 'sysu' gestalt is no
+        # longer available and there are no alternatives.
+        major =  int((sysu & 0xFF000000L) >> 24)
+        minor =  (sysu & 0x00F00000) >> 20
+        bugfix = (sysu & 0x000F0000) >> 16
+        stage =  (sysu & 0x0000FF00) >> 8
+        nonrel = (sysu & 0x000000FF)
+        version = '%s.%i.%i' % (_bcd2str(major),minor,bugfix)
+        nonrel = _bcd2str(nonrel)
+        stage = {0x20:'development',
+                 0x40:'alpha',
+                 0x60:'beta',
+                 0x80:'final'}.get(stage,'')
+        versioninfo = (version,stage,nonrel)
+
+
+    if sysa:
+        machine = {0x1: '68k',
+                   0x2: 'PowerPC',
+                   0xa: 'i386'}.get(sysa,'')
+    return release,versioninfo,machine
+
+def _java_getprop(name,default):
+
+    from java.lang import System
+    try:
+        value = System.getProperty(name)
+        if value is None:
+            return default
+        return value
+    except AttributeError:
+        return default
+
+def java_ver(release='',vendor='',vminfo=('','',''),osinfo=('','','')):
+
+    """ Version interface for Jython.
+
+        Returns a tuple (release,vendor,vminfo,osinfo) with vminfo being
+        a tuple (vm_name,vm_release,vm_vendor) and osinfo being a
+        tuple (os_name,os_version,os_arch).
+
+        Values which cannot be determined are set to the defaults
+        given as parameters (which all default to '').
+
+    """
+    # Import the needed APIs
+    try:
+        import java.lang
+    except ImportError:
+        return release,vendor,vminfo,osinfo
+
+    vendor = _java_getprop('java.vendor', vendor)
+    release = _java_getprop('java.version', release)
+    vm_name, vm_release, vm_vendor = vminfo
+    vm_name = _java_getprop('java.vm.name', vm_name)
+    vm_vendor = _java_getprop('java.vm.vendor', vm_vendor)
+    vm_release = _java_getprop('java.vm.version', vm_release)
+    vminfo = vm_name, vm_release, vm_vendor
+    os_name, os_version, os_arch = osinfo
+    os_arch = _java_getprop('java.os.arch', os_arch)
+    os_name = _java_getprop('java.os.name', os_name)
+    os_version = _java_getprop('java.os.version', os_version)
+    osinfo = os_name, os_version, os_arch
+
+    return release, vendor, vminfo, osinfo
+
+### System name aliasing
+
+def system_alias(system,release,version):
+
+    """ Returns (system,release,version) aliased to common
+        marketing names used for some systems.
+
+        It also does some reordering of the information in some cases
+        where it would otherwise cause confusion.
+
+    """
+    if system == 'Rhapsody':
+        # Apple's BSD derivative
+        # XXX How can we determine the marketing release number ?
+        return 'MacOS X Server',system+release,version
+
+    elif system == 'SunOS':
+        # Sun's OS
+        if release < '5':
+            # These releases use the old name SunOS
+            return system,release,version
+        # Modify release (marketing release = SunOS release - 3)
+        l = string.split(release,'.')
+        if l:
+            try:
+                major = int(l[0])
+            except ValueError:
+                pass
+            else:
+                major = major - 3
+                l[0] = str(major)
+                release = string.join(l,'.')
+        if release < '6':
+            system = 'Solaris'
+        else:
+            # XXX Whatever the new SunOS marketing name is...
+            system = 'Solaris'
+
+    elif system == 'IRIX64':
+        # IRIX reports IRIX64 on platforms with 64-bit support; yet it
+        # is really a version and not a different platform, since 32-bit
+        # apps are also supported..
+        system = 'IRIX'
+        if version:
+            version = version + ' (64bit)'
+        else:
+            version = '64bit'
+
+    elif system in ('win32','win16'):
+        # In case one of the other tricks
+        system = 'Windows'
+
+    return system,release,version
+
+### Various internal helpers
+
+def _platform(*args):
+
+    """ Helper to format the platform string in a filename
+        compatible format e.g. "system-version-machine".
+    """
+    # Format the platform string
+    platform = string.join(
+        map(string.strip,
+            filter(len, args)),
+        '-')
+
+    # Cleanup some possible filename obstacles...
+    replace = string.replace
+    platform = replace(platform,' ','_')
+    platform = replace(platform,'/','-')
+    platform = replace(platform,'\\','-')
+    platform = replace(platform,':','-')
+    platform = replace(platform,';','-')
+    platform = replace(platform,'"','-')
+    platform = replace(platform,'(','-')
+    platform = replace(platform,')','-')
+
+    # No need to report 'unknown' information...
+    platform = replace(platform,'unknown','')
+
+    # Fold '--'s and remove trailing '-'
+    while 1:
+        cleaned = replace(platform,'--','-')
+        if cleaned == platform:
+            break
+        platform = cleaned
+    while platform[-1] == '-':
+        platform = platform[:-1]
+
+    return platform
+
+def _node(default=''):
+
+    """ Helper to determine the node name of this machine.
+    """
+    try:
+        import socket
+    except ImportError:
+        # No sockets...
+        return default
+    try:
+        return socket.gethostname()
+    except socket.error:
+        # Still not working...
+        return default
+
+# os.path.abspath is new in Python 1.5.2:
+if not hasattr(os.path,'abspath'):
+
+    def _abspath(path,
+
+                 isabs=os.path.isabs,join=os.path.join,getcwd=os.getcwd,
+                 normpath=os.path.normpath):
+
+        if not isabs(path):
+            path = join(getcwd(), path)
+        return normpath(path)
+
+else:
+
+    _abspath = os.path.abspath
+
+def _follow_symlinks(filepath):
+
+    """ In case filepath is a symlink, follow it until a
+        real file is reached.
+    """
+    filepath = _abspath(filepath)
+    while os.path.islink(filepath):
+        filepath = os.path.normpath(
+            os.path.join(os.path.dirname(filepath),os.readlink(filepath)))
+    return filepath
+
+def _syscmd_uname(option,default=''):
+
+    """ Interface to the system's uname command.
+    """
+    if sys.platform in ('dos','win32','win16','os2'):
+        # XXX Others too ?
+        return default
+    try:
+        f = os.popen('uname %s 2> /dev/null' % option)
+    except (AttributeError,os.error):
+        return default
+    output = string.strip(f.read())
+    rc = f.close()
+    if not output or rc:
+        return default
+    else:
+        return output
+
+def _syscmd_file(target,default=''):
+
+    """ Interface to the system's file command.
+
+        The function uses the -b option of the file command to have it
+        ommit the filename in its output and if possible the -L option
+        to have the command follow symlinks. It returns default in
+        case the command should fail.
+
+    """
+    if sys.platform in ('dos','win32','win16','os2'):
+        # XXX Others too ?
+        return default
+    target = _follow_symlinks(target)
+    try:
+        f = os.popen('file "%s" 2> /dev/null' % target)
+    except (AttributeError,os.error):
+        return default
+    output = string.strip(f.read())
+    rc = f.close()
+    if not output or rc:
+        return default
+    else:
+        return output
+
+### Information about the used architecture
+
+# Default values for architecture; non-empty strings override the
+# defaults given as parameters
+_default_architecture = {
+    'win32': ('','WindowsPE'),
+    'win16': ('','Windows'),
+    'dos': ('','MSDOS'),
+}
+
+_architecture_split = re.compile(r'[\s,]').split
+
+def architecture(executable=sys.executable,bits='',linkage=''):
+
+    """ Queries the given executable (defaults to the Python interpreter
+        binary) for various architecture information.
+
+        Returns a tuple (bits,linkage) which contains information about
+        the bit architecture and the linkage format used for the
+        executable. Both values are returned as strings.
+
+        Values that cannot be determined are returned as given by the
+        parameter presets. If bits is given as '', the sizeof(pointer)
+        (or sizeof(long) on Python version < 1.5.2) is used as
+        indicator for the supported pointer size.
+
+        The function relies on the system's "file" command to do the
+        actual work. This is available on most if not all Unix
+        platforms. On some non-Unix platforms where the "file" command
+        does not exist and the executable is set to the Python interpreter
+        binary defaults from _default_architecture are used.
+
+    """
+    # Use the sizeof(pointer) as default number of bits if nothing
+    # else is given as default.
+    if not bits:
+        import struct
+        try:
+            size = struct.calcsize('P')
+        except struct.error:
+            # Older installations can only query longs
+            size = struct.calcsize('l')
+        bits = str(size*8) + 'bit'
+
+    # Get data from the 'file' system command
+    if executable:
+        output = _syscmd_file(executable, '')
+    else:
+        output = ''
+
+    if not output and \
+       executable == sys.executable:
+        # "file" command did not return anything; we'll try to provide
+        # some sensible defaults then...
+        if _default_architecture.has_key(sys.platform):
+            b,l = _default_architecture[sys.platform]
+            if b:
+                bits = b
+            if l:
+                linkage = l
+        return bits,linkage
+
+    # Split the output into a list of strings omitting the filename
+    fileout = _architecture_split(output)[1:]
+
+    if 'executable' not in fileout:
+        # Format not supported
+        return bits,linkage
+
+    # Bits
+    if '32-bit' in fileout:
+        bits = '32bit'
+    elif 'N32' in fileout:
+        # On Irix only
+        bits = 'n32bit'
+    elif '64-bit' in fileout:
+        bits = '64bit'
+
+    # Linkage
+    if 'ELF' in fileout:
+        linkage = 'ELF'
+    elif 'PE' in fileout:
+        # E.g. Windows uses this format
+        if 'Windows' in fileout:
+            linkage = 'WindowsPE'
+        else:
+            linkage = 'PE'
+    elif 'COFF' in fileout:
+        linkage = 'COFF'
+    elif 'MS-DOS' in fileout:
+        linkage = 'MSDOS'
+    else:
+        # XXX the A.OUT format also falls under this class...
+        pass
+
+    return bits,linkage
+
+### Portable uname() interface
+
+_uname_cache = None
+
+def uname():
+
+    """ Fairly portable uname interface. Returns a tuple
+        of strings (system,node,release,version,machine,processor)
+        identifying the underlying platform.
+
+        Note that unlike the os.uname function this also returns
+        possible processor information as an additional tuple entry.
+
+        Entries which cannot be determined are set to ''.
+
+    """
+    global _uname_cache
+    no_os_uname = 0
+
+    if _uname_cache is not None:
+        return _uname_cache
+
+    processor = ''
+
+    # Get some infos from the builtin os.uname API...
+    try:
+        system,node,release,version,machine = os.uname()
+    except AttributeError:
+        no_os_uname = 1
+
+    if no_os_uname or not filter(None, (system, node, release, version, machine)):
+        # Hmm, no there is either no uname or uname has returned
+        #'unknowns'... we'll have to poke around the system then.
+        if no_os_uname:
+            system = sys.platform
+            release = ''
+            version = ''
+            node = _node()
+            machine = ''
+
+        use_syscmd_ver = 01
+
+        # Try win32_ver() on win32 platforms
+        if system == 'win32':
+            release,version,csd,ptype = win32_ver()
+            if release and version:
+                use_syscmd_ver = 0
+            # Try to use the PROCESSOR_* environment variables
+            # available on Win XP and later; see
+            # http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888731 and
+            # http://www.geocities.com/rick_lively/MANUALS/ENV/MSWIN/PROCESSI.HTM
+            if not machine:
+                machine = os.environ.get('PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE', '')
+            if not processor:
+                processor = os.environ.get('PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER', machine)
+
+        # Try the 'ver' system command available on some
+        # platforms
+        if use_syscmd_ver:
+            system,release,version = _syscmd_ver(system)
+            # Normalize system to what win32_ver() normally returns
+            # (_syscmd_ver() tends to return the vendor name as well)
+            if system == 'Microsoft Windows':
+                system = 'Windows'
+            elif system == 'Microsoft' and release == 'Windows':
+                # Under Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008,
+                # Microsoft changed the output of the ver command. The
+                # release is no longer printed.  This causes the
+                # system and release to be misidentified.
+                system = 'Windows'
+                if '6.0' == version[:3]:
+                    release = 'Vista'
+                else:
+                    release = ''
+
+        # In case we still don't know anything useful, we'll try to
+        # help ourselves
+        if system in ('win32','win16'):
+            if not version:
+                if system == 'win32':
+                    version = '32bit'
+                else:
+                    version = '16bit'
+            system = 'Windows'
+
+        elif system[:4] == 'java':
+            release,vendor,vminfo,osinfo = java_ver()
+            system = 'Java'
+            version = string.join(vminfo,', ')
+            if not version:
+                version = vendor
+
+        elif os.name == 'mac':
+            release,(version,stage,nonrel),machine = mac_ver()
+            system = 'MacOS'
+
+    # System specific extensions
+    if system == 'OpenVMS':
+        # OpenVMS seems to have release and version mixed up
+        if not release or release == '0':
+            release = version
+            version = ''
+        # Get processor information
+        try:
+            import vms_lib
+        except ImportError:
+            pass
+        else:
+            csid, cpu_number = vms_lib.getsyi('SYI$_CPU',0)
+            if (cpu_number >= 128):
+                processor = 'Alpha'
+            else:
+                processor = 'VAX'
+    if not processor:
+        # Get processor information from the uname system command
+        processor = _syscmd_uname('-p','')
+
+    #If any unknowns still exist, replace them with ''s, which are more portable
+    if system == 'unknown':
+        system = ''
+    if node == 'unknown':
+        node = ''
+    if release == 'unknown':
+        release = ''
+    if version == 'unknown':
+        version = ''
+    if machine == 'unknown':
+        machine = ''
+    if processor == 'unknown':
+        processor = ''
+
+    #  normalize name
+    if system == 'Microsoft' and release == 'Windows':
+        system = 'Windows'
+        release = 'Vista'
+
+    _uname_cache = system,node,release,version,machine,processor
+    return _uname_cache
+
+### Direct interfaces to some of the uname() return values
+
+def system():
+
+    """ Returns the system/OS name, e.g. 'Linux', 'Windows' or 'Java'.
+
+        An empty string is returned if the value cannot be determined.
+
+    """
+    return uname()[0]
+
+def node():
+
+    """ Returns the computer's network name (which may not be fully
+        qualified)
+
+        An empty string is returned if the value cannot be determined.
+
+    """
+    return uname()[1]
+
+def release():
+
+    """ Returns the system's release, e.g. '2.2.0' or 'NT'
+
+        An empty string is returned if the value cannot be determined.
+
+    """
+    return uname()[2]
+
+def version():
+
+    """ Returns the system's release version, e.g. '#3 on degas'
+
+        An empty string is returned if the value cannot be determined.
+
+    """
+    return uname()[3]
+
+def machine():
+
+    """ Returns the machine type, e.g. 'i386'
+
+        An empty string is returned if the value cannot be determined.
+
+    """
+    return uname()[4]
+
+def processor():
+
+    """ Returns the (true) processor name, e.g. 'amdk6'
+
+        An empty string is returned if the value cannot be
+        determined. Note that many platforms do not provide this
+        information or simply return the same value as for machine(),
+        e.g.  NetBSD does this.
+
+    """
+    return uname()[5]
+
+### Various APIs for extracting information from sys.version
+
+_sys_version_parser = re.compile(
+    r'([\w.+]+)\s*'
+    '\(#?([^,]+),\s*([\w ]+),\s*([\w :]+)\)\s*'
+    '\[([^\]]+)\]?')
+
+_jython_sys_version_parser = re.compile(
+    r'([\d\.]+)')
+
+_ironpython_sys_version_parser = re.compile(
+    r'IronPython\s*'
+    '([\d\.]+)'
+    '(?: \(([\d\.]+)\))?'
+    ' on (.NET [\d\.]+)')
+
+_sys_version_cache = {}
+
+def _sys_version(sys_version=None):
+
+    """ Returns a parsed version of Python's sys.version as tuple
+       (name, version, branch, revision, buildno, builddate, compiler)
+       referring to the Python implementation name, version, branch,
+       revision, build number, build date/time as string and the compiler
+       identification string.
+
+        Note that unlike the Python sys.version, the returned value
+        for the Python version will always include the patchlevel (it
+        defaults to '.0').
+
+        The function returns empty strings for tuple entries that
+        cannot be determined.
+
+        sys_version may be given to parse an alternative version
+        string, e.g. if the version was read from a different Python
+        interpreter.
+
+    """
+    # Get the Python version
+    if sys_version is None:
+        sys_version = sys.version
+
+    # Try the cache first
+    result = _sys_version_cache.get(sys_version, None)
+    if result is not None:
+        return result
+
+    # Parse it
+    if sys_version[:10] == 'IronPython':
+        # IronPython
+        name = 'IronPython'
+        match = _ironpython_sys_version_parser.match(sys_version)
+        if match is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                'failed to parse IronPython sys.version: %s' %
+                repr(sys_version))
+        version, alt_version, compiler = match.groups()
+        branch = ''
+        revision = ''
+        buildno = ''
+        builddate = ''
+
+    elif sys.platform[:4] == 'java':
+        # Jython
+        name = 'Jython'
+        match = _jython_sys_version_parser.match(sys_version)
+        if match is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                'failed to parse Jython sys.version: %s' %
+                repr(sys_version))
+        version, = match.groups()
+        branch = ''
+        revision = ''
+        compiler = sys.platform
+        buildno = ''
+        builddate = ''
+
+    else:
+        # CPython
+        match = _sys_version_parser.match(sys_version)
+        if match is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                'failed to parse CPython sys.version: %s' %
+                repr(sys_version))
+        version, buildno, builddate, buildtime, compiler = \
+              match.groups()
+        if hasattr(sys, 'subversion'):
+            # sys.subversion was added in Python 2.5
+            name, branch, revision = sys.subversion
+        else:
+            name = 'CPython'
+            branch = ''
+            revision = ''
+        builddate = builddate + ' ' + buildtime
+
+    # Add the patchlevel version if missing
+    l = string.split(version, '.')
+    if len(l) == 2:
+        l.append('0')
+        version = string.join(l, '.')
+
+    # Build and cache the result
+    result = (name, version, branch, revision, buildno, builddate, compiler)
+    _sys_version_cache[sys_version] = result
+    return result
+
+def _test_sys_version():
+
+    _sys_version_cache.clear()
+    for input, output in (
+        ('2.4.3 (#1, Jun 21 2006, 13:54:21) \n[GCC 3.3.4 (pre 3.3.5 20040809)]',
+         ('CPython', '2.4.3', '', '', '1', 'Jun 21 2006 13:54:21', 'GCC 3.3.4 (pre 3.3.5 20040809)')),
+        ('IronPython 1.0.60816 on .NET 2.0.50727.42',
+         ('IronPython', '1.0.60816', '', '', '', '', '.NET 2.0.50727.42')),
+        ('IronPython 1.0 (1.0.61005.1977) on .NET 2.0.50727.42',
+         ('IronPython', '1.0.0', '', '', '', '', '.NET 2.0.50727.42')),
+        ):
+        parsed = _sys_version(input)
+        if parsed != output:
+            print (input, parsed)
+
+def python_implementation():
+
+    """ Returns a string identifying the Python implementation.
+
+        Currently, the following implementations are identified:
+        'CPython' (C implementation of Python),
+        'IronPython' (.NET implementation of Python),
+        'Jython' (Java implementation of Python).
+
+    """
+    return _sys_version()[0]
+
+def python_version():
+
+    """ Returns the Python version as string 'major.minor.patchlevel'
+
+        Note that unlike the Python sys.version, the returned value
+        will always include the patchlevel (it defaults to 0).
+
+    """
+    if hasattr(sys, 'version_info'):
+        return '%i.%i.%i' % sys.version_info[:3]
+    return _sys_version()[1]
+
+def python_version_tuple():
+
+    """ Returns the Python version as tuple (major, minor, patchlevel)
+        of strings.
+
+        Note that unlike the Python sys.version, the returned value
+        will always include the patchlevel (it defaults to 0).
+
+    """
+    if hasattr(sys, 'version_info'):
+        return sys.version_info[:3]
+    return tuple(string.split(_sys_version()[1], '.'))
+
+def python_branch():
+
+    """ Returns a string identifying the Python implementation
+        branch.
+
+        For CPython this is the Subversion branch from which the
+        Python binary was built.
+
+        If not available, an empty string is returned.
+
+    """
+
+    return _sys_version()[2]
+
+def python_revision():
+
+    """ Returns a string identifying the Python implementation
+        revision.
+
+        For CPython this is the Subversion revision from which the
+        Python binary was built.
+
+        If not available, an empty string is returned.
+
+    """
+    return _sys_version()[3]
+
+def python_build():
+
+    """ Returns a tuple (buildno, builddate) stating the Python
+        build number and date as strings.
+
+    """
+    return _sys_version()[4:6]
+
+def python_compiler():
+
+    """ Returns a string identifying the compiler used for compiling
+        Python.
+
+    """
+    return _sys_version()[6]
+
+### The Opus Magnum of platform strings :-)
+
+_platform_cache = {}
+
+def platform(aliased=0, terse=0):
+
+    """ Returns a single string identifying the underlying platform
+        with as much useful information as possible (but no more :).
+
+        The output is intended to be human readable rather than
+        machine parseable. It may look different on different
+        platforms and this is intended.
+
+        If "aliased" is true, the function will use aliases for
+        various platforms that report system names which differ from
+        their common names, e.g. SunOS will be reported as
+        Solaris. The system_alias() function is used to implement
+        this.
+
+        Setting terse to true causes the function to return only the
+        absolute minimum information needed to identify the platform.
+
+    """
+    result = _platform_cache.get((aliased, terse), None)
+    if result is not None:
+        return result
+
+    # Get uname information and then apply platform specific cosmetics
+    # to it...
+    system,node,release,version,machine,processor = uname()
+    if machine == processor:
+        processor = ''
+    if aliased:
+        system,release,version = system_alias(system,release,version)
+
+    if system == 'Windows':
+        # MS platforms
+        rel,vers,csd,ptype = win32_ver(version)
+        if terse:
+            platform = _platform(system,release)
+        else:
+            platform = _platform(system,release,version,csd)
+
+    elif system in ('Linux',):
+        # Linux based systems
+        distname,distversion,distid = dist('')
+        if distname and not terse:
+            platform = _platform(system,release,machine,processor,
+                                 'with',
+                                 distname,distversion,distid)
+        else:
+            # If the distribution name is unknown check for libc vs. glibc
+            libcname,libcversion = libc_ver(sys.executable)
+            platform = _platform(system,release,machine,processor,
+                                 'with',
+                                 libcname+libcversion)
+    elif system == 'Java':
+        # Java platforms
+        r,v,vminfo,(os_name,os_version,os_arch) = java_ver()
+        if terse or not os_name:
+            platform = _platform(system,release,version)
+        else:
+            platform = _platform(system,release,version,
+                                 'on',
+                                 os_name,os_version,os_arch)
+
+    elif system == 'MacOS':
+        # MacOS platforms
+        if terse:
+            platform = _platform(system,release)
+        else:
+            platform = _platform(system,release,machine)
+
+    else:
+        # Generic handler
+        if terse:
+            platform = _platform(system,release)
+        else:
+            bits,linkage = architecture(sys.executable)
+            platform = _platform(system,release,machine,processor,bits,linkage)
+
+    _platform_cache[(aliased, terse)] = platform
+    return platform
+
+### Command line interface
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    # Default is to print the aliased verbose platform string
+    terse = ('terse' in sys.argv or '--terse' in sys.argv)
+    aliased = (not 'nonaliased' in sys.argv and not '--nonaliased' in sys.argv)
+    print platform(aliased,terse)
+    sys.exit(0)