I was slightly misled by the wording of part of the docs 
(http://docs.python.org/lib/bltin-file-objects.html):
"file() is new in Python 2.2. The older built-in open() is an alias 
for file()."

I actually thought it meant that open was an alias of file, so 
that 'open is file'. However, 
>>> open is file
False

I feel that "alias" is the wrong word to use here, though I don't know 
a suitable replacement.

> I feel that "alias" is the wrong word to use here, though I don't know 
> a suitable replacement.

Should we say, "The older built-in open() serves the same purpose as file."

Notice that file *was* open up to Python 2.4; this was changed with
#1479181 - so "open" is newer than file, in a sense. Assigning to Neal,
who committed the original change.

open() is preferred over file(), too. In Python 2.5 open() returns a
file instance but in 3.0 file is removed.

Looks like a doc change that Georg could easily apply.

I had already cleaned this up in the trunk.