@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ Glossary
194194 An object exposing a file-oriented API (with methods such as
195195 :meth: `read() ` or :meth: `write() `) to an underlying resource. Depending
196196 on the way it was created, a file object can mediate access to a real
197- on-disk file or to another other type of storage or communication device
197+ on-disk file or to another type of storage or communication device
198198 (for example standard input/output, in-memory buffers, sockets, pipes,
199199 etc.). File objects are also called :dfn: `file-like objects ` or
200200 :dfn: `streams `.
@@ -523,6 +523,20 @@ Glossary
523523 definition), or pass several arguments as a list to a function. See
524524 :term: `argument `.
525525
526+ provisional package
527+ A provisional package is one which has been deliberately excluded from the
528+ standard library's backwards compatibility guarantees. While major
529+ changes to such packages are not expected, as long as they are marked
530+ provisional, backwards incompatible changes (up to and including removal
531+ of the package) may occur if deemed necessary by core developers. Such
532+ changes will not be made gratuitously -- they will occur only if serious
533+ flaws are uncovered that were missed prior to the inclusion of the
534+ package.
535+
536+ This process allows the standard library to continue to evolve over time,
537+ without locking in problematic design errors for extended periods of time.
538+ See :pep: `411 ` for more details.
539+
526540 Python 3000
527541 Nickname for the Python 3.x release line (coined long ago when the release
528542 of version 3 was something in the distant future.) This is also
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