[Python-ideas] Statements vs Expressions... why?

[Cliff Wells]

On Mon, 2008-09-15 at 12:37 +1200, Greg Ewing wrote:
> Cliff Wells wrote:
> 
> > factors = for x in range ( 2, n ):
> >     if n % x == 0:
> >         yield x
> 
> Is this construct meant to be a list comprehension or
> a generator expression? If it's a GC, you just get
> factors bound to an iterator, not a list of results
> from that iterator. 

First thing, I've recanted reusing "yield" (see below), but your
questions still hold in any case.

It evaluates to an iterable, I think a generator being the logical
choice (although I've been using "[]" to indicate an empty iterable in
discussion for brevity).

> If it's an LC, then what do you
> do if you want a dict or tuple comprehension instead?

Did we already grow those?  I don't want to debate tuple comprehension
(I admit I fail to see the point), but dict comprehensions would be
great.  To be clear, I'm aiming for as much backwards-compatibility as
possible, so I'm in no way suggesting removing comprehensions (although
I think they'd become somewhat redundant).

In the hypothetical absence of a comprehension feature, I'd probably try
to write one like these (I'm slipping "continue" in here as a
replacement for yield, which I explain below):

x = for i in j: if i: continue i else: continue i**2 # list comp

x = dict ( for i in j: continue i, i**2 ) # not a dict comp ;-)

> Also, 'yield' already has a meaning that's different
> from what you seem to want here. Consider:

Yes, that's why I had to retract using the yield keyword in this
context.  Instead I propose either a new keyword or allowing continue to
accept an optional argument causing it to mean "yield expression and
continue" rather than just "continue":

factors = for x in range ( 2, n ):
    in n % x == 0:
        continue x  

continue without an argument would continue to mean what it does now.

This raises some other concerns, but it's an option to be weighed
against adding a keyword.  In any case, using "yield" is straight out.

Regards,
Cliff