python-opening a shortcut file in write mode gives me a return value 41

Question

I was experimenting on files using python when I found out that opening a shortcut file in write mode returns 41, this is the code i used:

>>>with open('programs.lnk - Copy','w') as f:
       f.write("C:\\Users\\DEVDHRITI\\AppData\\Local\\Programs")

    
>>>41

is this a bug or some specific id??

Answer 1

No. It's not a bug. It's is part of the API. Quoting from the documentation,

f.write(string) writes the contents of string to the file, returning the number of characters written.

>>> f.write('This is a test\n')
15