Collection interfaces

[Alex Martelli]

"Topmind" <topmind at technologist.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1505a76831c34b749896b3 at news.earthlink.net...
    [snip]
> Why can't the nodes of a multi-set ALSO have time-stamps
> or a sequantial record/node number in them?

Because that would be unwarranted overhead on 99.947%
of the uses of a multiset...?!

Why doesn't insertion into the multiset compute "priority"
value according to _all_ possible formulas, as long as it's
at it, so I can later decide that my multiset is actually a
priority queue, too...?


> Requirements change and morph and merge.

And when they do, one refactors appropriately (and reruns
one's tests -- that goes without saying).  If I need my items
timestamped, prioritized, turned into lowercase, or maybe
translated into Elbonian, as I insert them into a collection,
I'll be much happier providing or choosing the appropriate
collection, rather than have all collections try to be all things
to all items, thank you very much.


Alex