[Python-Dev] Proposal to revert r54204 (splitext change)

[Mike Krell]

On 3/15/07, "Martin v. Löwis" <martin at v.loewis.de> wrote:

> ... the majority of the people polled thought that it ought to be fixed.

Personally, I didn't respond to your "poll" because I didn't think
this particular issue would come down to a silly head count of
self-selecting responders.

When I first needed to use splitext in my code, I tested the relevant
corner case in question at the interactive prompt.  I also read the
docstring which explicitly documented the behavior.  I then wrote my
code accordingly.

Knowing that this was well-defined and documented behavior and having
followed this list during previous backward compatibility discussions,
I "knew" that there was no way your proposed patch would make it into
a minor release because many long-time active developers would
rightfully point out that it gratuitously breaks code.

In your radical departure from the common-sense approach to
code-breaking changes that typically prevails here, you proved me
wrong.  So now I'm speaking up.

FWIW, I agree completely with PJE's and glyph's remarks with respect
to expectations of stability, especially in a minor release.  Sorry,
updating the NEWS file isn't good enough, because as has been amply
demonstrated here, many people cannot be bothered to read the
documentation.

+10000 on reverting the patch and not punishing those users who
bothered to the documentation or test the corner cases themselves.

   Mike