[Python-Dev] Surely "nullable" is a reasonable name?

[Oleg Broytman]

Hi!

On Mon, Aug 04, 2014 at 05:12:47PM +1000, Larry Hastings <larry at hastings.org> wrote:
> "nullable=True", which means "also accept None
> for this parameter".  This was originally intended for use with
> strings (compare the "s" and "z" format units for PyArg_ParseTuple),
> however it looks like we'll have a use for "nullable ints" in the
> ongoing Argument Clinic conversion work.
> 
> Several people have said they found the name "nullable" surprising,
> suggesting I use another name like "allow_none" or "noneable".  I,
> in turn, find their surprise surprising; "nullable" is a term long
> associated with exactly this concept.  It's used in C# and SQL, and
> the term even has its own Wikipedia page:
> 
>    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullable_type

   In my very humble opinion, "nullable" is ok, but "allow_none" is
better.

Oleg.
-- 
     Oleg Broytman            http://phdru.name/            phd at phdru.name
           Programmers don't die, they just GOSUB without RETURN.