abstract features

[Grant Griffin]

In article <r63gntgusivel7n51rdh2nmkvh6j1cjfe7 at 4ax.com>, Courageous says...
>
>
>>Python's potential in education, on the other hand,  is right 
>>down the middle mainstream. 
>
>I believe that this is quickly becoming not true. It used to be
>the case that Python's relative paucity of forms meant easily
>reading someone else's code. That's quickly changing, IMO.
>

One salespitch* I've used for Python is that it is so readable that experienced
C programmers can read simple programs without knowing any Python at all. 
However, when I've shown folks random, simple examples of code, it's always been
hard to explain slices.  Still, slices are essential so they're hard to avoid,
even in simple code.

But beyond slices, to keep Python simple enough even for folks like me to learn
(as it once was <wink>), I'd like to see it support something like "language
levels", in which one could turn off, via a command-line switch, the more
"abstract", less essential (and, notably, more recent) constructs like list
comprehensions and iterators/generators (which I think _will_ be useful--at
least once I figure them out <wink>).

Then, newibes who use such things will be punished by a traceback.

stop-me-before-I-"list-comprehend"-again-ly y'rs,

=g2
*After evangelizing for over a year, I've yet to sell it to anybody.  That's
ample evidence that I'm not a good salesman.

_____________________________________________________________________

Grant R. Griffin                                       g2 at dspguru.com
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