A Suggestion for Python Colon Syntax

A.M. Kuchling amk at mira.erols.com
Thu Dec 28 18:27:31 EST 2000


On Wed, 27 Dec 2000 19:14:38 -0500, Tim Peters <tim.one at home.com> wrote:
>Guido is often called "the BDFL" here.  That stands for Benevolent Dictator
>For Life.  Python design is in fact a dictatorship, and that's widely
>perceived as one of Python's greatest strengths:  it gives the language an

Also note that there's nothing preventing anyone from forking the
Python source, and this could happen if Guido makes enough bad
decisions.  However, so far most of his bad decisions --

* the __ privacy hack
* the "print >>" syntax
* wanting to deprecate the string module

-- have been fairly minor ones that can be ignored, and people don't
remain BDFL of a project for 10 years because they're stupid, so the
community is naturally reluctant to jettison such a person. (The team
of fanatically-devoted and highly-trained assassins helps.)
Introducing case-insensitivity, optional static typing, or some other
large change, may someday be the breaking point causing a fork, or it
might not.

--amk



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