Whitespace as syntax (was Re: Python Rocks!)

[François Pinard]

Patrick Phalen <python-list at teleo.net> writes:

> You do have a bit of a nerve coming on this newsgroup and suggesting
> that the thousands of serious programmers (many of them former Perl
> hackers) who use Python daily do so for the sole reason of a slight edge
> in maintainability.  Or that Python's popularity is the result of some
> unexplainable initial condition.

Even if I agree with most of your statements, Patrick, I would hardly say
that the majority of users necessarily makes something right.  It improves
the feeling that it might be, of course, but it is no proof in itself.
It surely takes a "bit of nerve", as you say.  I respect that, also given
that the intent was not to flame nor create any kind of crisis.

A bit lost in the discussion, was the call of the original poster for
more redundancy in the language.  This is a very legitimate concern.
My feeling is that, even if Python has less redundancy than some other
languages, far enough is still left for Python to be very workable.
But yet, developing such feeling and confidence takes time, and taming.

-- 
François Pinard   http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~pinard