bash-2.05b# strace python 2>&1 | grep open | grep null
open("/dev/null", O_RDONLY|O_NONBLOCK|O_DIRECTORY) = -1
ENOTDIR (Not a directory) 

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I don't quite understand what you're trying to tell us here.

Are you just calling Python this way and observing the
system calls? Then, what system do you use? What version?
What kernel, etc.

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I downloaded the python-2.4.1 sources and compiled under
slack 10 and Mandrake 10.1 and in both case it tried to open
/dev/null as a directory.
Some debian users reported me the same behaviure.

[roberto@wsraf roberto]$ uname -ar
Linux wsraf.sad.it 2.6.8.1-24mdksmp #1 SMP Thu Jan 13
23:11:43 MST 2005 i686 Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
unknown GNU/Linux

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2 questions though:

1. Does this cause any problems?

2. I observe exactly the same behaviour for ls! (I'm on
Debian, kernel 2.4.25)


 bagira:~> strace ls | & grep open | grep null
 open("/dev/null", O_RDONLY|O_NONBLOCK|O_DIRECTORY) = -1        
    ENOTDIR (Not a directory)

 and for du:

  bagira:~> strace du /etc | & grep open |grep null
  open("/dev/null", O_RDONLY|O_NONBLOCK|O_DIRECTORY) = -1
ENOTDIR (Not a directory)

So, I'm almost ready to say that even if it's a bug, it's
not a python's bug... (Search for /dev/null in python source
also does not find anything interesting)..

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I think this isn't Python's fault, as isandler's post shows.
I would rather look for a bug in the C lib.