[Python-Dev] __credits__ and __author__ variables

[Guido van Rossum]

Ping just checked in this:

> Log Message:
> Add __author__ and __credits__ variables.
> 
> 
> Index: tokenize.py
> ===================================================================
> RCS file: /cvsroot/python/python/dist/src/Lib/tokenize.py,v
> retrieving revision 1.19
> retrieving revision 1.20
> diff -C2 -r1.19 -r1.20
> *** tokenize.py	2001/03/01 04:27:19	1.19
> --- tokenize.py	2001/03/01 13:56:40	1.20
> ***************
> *** 10,14 ****
>   it produces COMMENT tokens for comments and gives type OP for all operators."""
>   
> ! __version__ = "Ka-Ping Yee, 26 October 1997; patched, GvR 3/30/98"
>   
>   import string, re
> --- 10,15 ----
>   it produces COMMENT tokens for comments and gives type OP for all operators."""
>   
> ! __author__ = 'Ka-Ping Yee <ping@lfw.org>'
> ! __credits__ = 'first version, 26 October 1997; patched, GvR 3/30/98'
>   
>   import string, re

I'm slightly uncomfortable with the __credits__ variable inserted
here.  First of all, __credits__ doesn't really describe the
information given.  Second, doesn't this info belong in the CVS
history?  I'm not for including random extracts of a module's history
in the source code -- this is more likely than not to become out of
date.  (E.g. from the CVS log it's not clear why my contribution
deserves a mention while Tim's doesn't -- it looks like Tim probably
spent a lot more time thinking about it than I did.)

Anothor source of discomfort is that there's absolutely no standard
for this kind of meta-data variables.  We've got __version__, and I
believe we once agreed on that (in 1994 or so :-).  But __author__?
__credits__?  What next -- __cute_signoff__?

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