I\'m unsure about (1).
As for (2), I believe Python flush
I don't know if this applies to python as well, but I think it depends on the operating system that you are running.
On Linux for example, output to terminal flushes the buffer on a newline, whereas for output to files it only flushes when the buffer is full (by default). This is because it is more efficient to flush the buffer fewer times, and the user is less likely to notice if the output is not flushed on a newline in a file.
You might be able to auto-flush the output if that is what you need.
EDIT: I think you would auto-flush in python this way (based from here)
#0 means there is no buffer, so all output
#will be auto-flushed
fsock = open('out.log', 'w', 0)
sys.stdout = fsock
#do whatever
fsock.close()