[Python-Dev] xrange vs generators

[Guido van Rossum]

> With generators in the language, should xrange be deprecated?
> 
> Skip

No, but maybe xrange() should be changed to return an iterator.
E.g. something like this:

  def xrange(start, stop, step):
      while start < stop:
          yield start
          start += stop

but with the appropriate defaults, and reversal of the test if step <
0, and an error if step == 0, and type checks enforcing ints (or long
ints!), and implemented in C. :-)

Although xrange() objects currently support some sequence algebra,
that is mostly bogus and I don't think anyone in their right mind uses
it.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)