[Python-Dev] any support for a methodcaller HOF?

[Robert Brewer]

Giovanni Bajo wrote:
> Alex Martelli <aleaxit at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I understand your worry re the syntax issue.  So what about Michael
> > Hudson's "placeholder class" idea, where X[1] returns the callable
> > that will do x[1] when called, etc?  Looks elegant to me...
> 
> Depends on how the final API looks like. "deffered(x)[1]" 
> isn't that bad, but "def x: x[1]" still looks clearer as
> the 'def' keyword immediatly makes clear you're DEFining
> a DEFerred function <g> :) Of course we can paint our
> bikeshed of whatever color we like, but I'm happy enough if 
> we agree with the general idea of keeping the same syntax
> in both deferred and immediate execution.

I don't agree with that "general idea" at all. Sorry. ;) I think the
semantic emphasis should not be on "execution", but rather on
"expression". The word "execution" to me implies "statements", and
although some functions somewhere are called behind the scenes to
evaluate any expression, the lambda (and its potential successors)
differ from "def" by not allowing statements. They may be used to "defer
execution" but to me, their value lies in being static
expressions--object instances which are portable and introspectable.

This is where LINQ [1] is taking off: expressions are declared with
"var" (in C#). I used Expression() in Dejavu [2] for the same reasons
(before LINQ came along ;), and am using it to build SQL from Python
lambdas. I had to use lambda because that's Python's only builtin
support for expressions-as-objects at the moment, but I'd like to see
Python grow a syntax like:

    e = expr(x: x + 1)

...where expr() does early binding like dejavu.logic does. [Looking back
over my logic module, I'm noticing it requires boolean return values,
but it would not be difficult to extend to return abitrary values--even
easier if it were rewritten as builtin functionality. Guess I need to
write myself another ticket. ;)]


Robert Brewer
System Architect
Amor Ministries
fumanchu at amor.org

[1] http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/future/linq/
[2] http://projects.amor.org/dejavu/browser/trunk/logic.py