Why is 'dir()' named 'dir' in python?

Question:

In Python there is a built-in function called dir. This is used to get a list of all the attributes for an object.

I understand what it does, but I am confused about why it is called dir. How is this name related to getting the attributes from an object?

Asked By: TM.

Source

Answers:

It gives you a directory of all attributes of an object.

This is not a directory as used in file systems, but the standard usage: a listing of names or data.

Answered By: interjay

You’re retrieving a “directory”, a list of all of the stuff that’s available in some resource.

Answered By: Jonathan Feinberg

This answer will be most useful to those new to Python.

I am learning Python and just this morning was thinking about the builtin constants and functions that are available in the language.

I find it interesting that you only have to remember three things:

There is a ‘special’ builtin function dir().

There is a ‘system variable’ __builtins__.

dir(__builtins__) outputs a view of ‘Python’s builtin world’.

So what does dir mean? I’ve settled on this for now:

directions: supplies maps for traversing the Python Landscape.