At the bottom of http://docs.python.org/library/fcntl.html there is a
"see also" section for the os module that says:

    If the locking flags O_SHLOCK and O_EXLOCK are present in the os
module, the os.open() function provides a more platform-independent
alternative to the lockf() and flock() functions.

However, those flags are documented as being "unix only" (ie: no
windows), and in fact Linux does not support them.  Alan Cox rejected
support for them back in 2000 according to this linux kernel posting:

  http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0005.1/1309.html

so it doesn't seem likely linux will ever support them.

Thus, to say that they provide a "more platform independent-alternative"
would appear to be false, since they appear to only be supported on BSD
and derivitives.