[Python-Dev] Replacement for print in Python 3.0

[Gustavo J. A. M. Carneiro]

On Sat, 2005-09-03 at 19:42 +0100, Paul Moore wrote:
> On 9/3/05, James Y Knight <foom at fuhm.net> wrote:
> > 
> > On Sep 3, 2005, at 11:32 AM, Barry Warsaw wrote:
> > 
> > > So I think it's best to have two builtins:
> > >
> > > print(*args, **kws)
> > > printf(fmt, *args, **kws)
> > 
> > It seems pretty bogus to me to add a second builtin just to apply the
> > % operator for you. I've always really liked that Python doesn't have
> > separate xyzf functions, because formatting is an operation you can
> > do directly on the string and pass that to any function you like.
> > It's much cleaner...
> 
> I have to agree. While I accept that Barry has genuine use cases for
> the printf form, I don't quite see why %-formatting isn't enough. Is
> the print-plus-% form so much less readable and/or maintainable?

  printf does avoid one extra set of () in many cases, making the code
look and indent nicer.

  I take this chance to state my humble opinion.  Please keep the print
function print(), not writeln()!  "printing stuff" is everyone's
favorite anachronistic expression, even though the output doesn't go to
a printer anymore.  We all love it!  I know Guido wanted a different
name so that print() could be introduced in python 2 to allow a smooth
transition to python 3, but the disadvantages in lost readability and
familiarity by far outweigh the transition concerns imho.

  Regards.

-- 
Gustavo J. A. M. Carneiro
<gjc at inescporto.pt> <gustavo at users.sourceforge.net>
The universe is always one step beyond logic