[Python-Dev] proposal: add basic money type to the standard library

[Guido van Rossum]

> > > I propose adding an "abstract" money base type to the standard
> > > library, to be subclassed by real money/decimal implementations.
> > 
> > Why do we need this?  I guess that would be Question #1...
> 
> For databases ?! The DB API has long had a monetary or at least
> decimal type on its plate... never got around to implementing
> one, though :-)

I can only find one reference to money or decimal in the DB API PEP,
and that's as a future task.  I guess that's what you mean by "on its
plate".

Since I'm not a database expert, maybe you can explain the use of this
in more detail?  And why would we need a monetary type rather than a
fixed-point decimal type?

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