[Python-Dev] None as a keyword / class methods

[Peter Funk]

Hi!

> Barry A. Warsaw writes:
> >>>>>> "PF" == Peter Funk <pf@artcom-gmbh.de> writes:
> >    PF> I wonder, how much existinng code the None --> keyword change
> >    PF> would brake.
> >Me too.
 
Andrew M. Kuchling:
> I can't conceive of anyone using None as a function name or a variable
> name, except through a bug or thinking that 'None, useful, None =
> 1,2,3' works.  Even though None isn't a fixed constant, it might as
> well be.  How much C code have you see lately that starts with int
> function(void *NULL) ?

I agree.  

urban legend:  Once upon a time someone found the following neat snippet 
of C source hidden in some header file of a very very huge software, 
after he has spend some nights trying to figure out, why some simple edits 
he made in order to make the code more readable broke the system:
	#ifdef TRUE
	/* eat this: you arrogant Quiche Eaters */
	#undef TRUE
	#undef FALSE
	#define TRUE (0)
	#define FALSE (1)
	#endif
Obviously the poor guy would have found this particular small piece of evil 
code much earlier, if he had simply 'grep'ed for comments... there were not 
so many in this system. ;-)

> Being able to do "None = 2" also smacks a bit of those legendary
> Fortran compilers that let you accidentally change 2 into 4.  +1 on
> this change for Py3K, and I doubt it would cause breakage even if
> introduced into 1.x.

We'll see: those "Real Programmers" never die.  Fortunately they
prefer Perl over Python. <0.5 grin>

Regards, Peter