[Python-ideas] PEP 505: None-aware operators

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Sun, Jul 29, 2018 at 12:49:13PM +1200, Greg Ewing wrote:
> Abe Dillon wrote:
> >others countering that `person.name <http://person.name>` is not how 
> >periods are used in natural languages, so using other symbols in 
> >unintuitive ways is perfectly fine.
> 
> Dots have been used for attribute access in so many languages
> for so long that it has become the normal and expected syntax
> to use. ?. is much more recent. Maybe in another 30 years, if
> it has stood the test of time, it could be argued for on the
> basis of familiarity, but not now.

You're talking like the syntax is used only by a handful of experimental 
languages with a total user-base measured in the dozens.

?. is used by some of the most commonly used languages in the world, 
such as C++, Objective C and PHP, as well as up-and-coming "cool" 
languages getting lots of industry buzz, like Swift and Dart.

Its certainly more familiar now than Python's slicing syntax was when 
Python first started.



-- 
Steve