gh-117705: Add follow_symlinks to os.path.exists()

[nineteendo]

Benchmark:

::test.bat@echooffecho existent && python -m timeit -s "import ntpath""ntpath.lexists('test.bat')"&& PCbuild\amd64\python.exe -m timeit -s "import ntpath""ntpath.lexists('test.bat')"echo non-existent && python -m timeit -s "import ntpath""ntpath.lexists('foo.bar')"&& PCbuild\amd64\python.exe -m timeit -s "import ntpath""ntpath.lexists('foo.bar')"

existent 5000 loops, best of 5: 47.9 usec per loop # before 5000 loops, best of 5: 46.8 usec per loop # after # -> 1.02x faster non-existent 10000 loops, best of 5: 21.8 usec per loop # before 20000 loops, best of 5: 16 usec per loop # after # -> 1.36x faster 

• Issue: Add follow_symlinks to os.path.exists() #117705

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📚 Documentation preview 📚: https://cpython-previews--117729.org.readthedocs.build/

[nineteendo]

@serhiy-storchaka, thoughts?

[serhiy-storchaka]

How does it differ from lexists()?

[nineteendo]

It's more explicit, and it allows us to implement a faster lexists() on Windows without duplicating C code.