[Python-Dev] __del__ and tp_dealloc in the IO lib

[Steve Holden]

Giovanni Bajo wrote:
> On gio, 2009-01-22 at 18:42 -0800, Guido van Rossum wrote:
[...]
> I miss to understand why many Python developers are so fierce in trying
> to push the idea of cross-python compatibility (which is something that
> does simply *not* exist in real world for applications) or to warn about
> rainy days in the future when this would stop working in CPython. I
> would strongly prefer that CPython would settle on (= document) using
> reference counting and immediate destruction so that people can stop
> making their everyday code more complex with no benefit. You will be
> losing no more than an open door that nobody has entered in 20 years,
> and people would only benefit from it.

Probably because it's good practice to write for compatibility where
possible. Cross-OS compatibility isn't possible in the general case
either, but it's still a good goal in the cases where it *is* possible.

Given that your sample code will generally work even for implementations
where garbage collection is used rather than reference counting I fail
to understand why you insist so hard that a more restrictive rule should
be implemented.

regards
 Steve
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