Eliminating upgrade risk

[Peter Hansen]

"James C. Ahlstrom" wrote:
> 
> Robin Becker wrote:
> 
> > If the advice from the Gods is that Python is a 'research' language then
> > I'll know better what to do.
[...]
> The problem is that the new Python features, as wonderful as they are,
> are chosen for Computer Science Purity, not day-to-working-day
> importance to someone actually trying to write a widely used bullet
> proof program.  The current rate of language change is fine for a
> student or casual programmer I'm sure, but I don't have that luxury.

I agree the rate of change is enough to make many of us nervous
(perhaps especially in industry).  And I agree some of the new
features appear (from my particular point of view) unnecessary
and more like CS playthings than anything else.

That said, I have to say that at least one change is likely to
improve my ability to produce bullet-proof programs.

The surgery on the way division works will almost certainly
reduce the risk of my accidentally (and quietly) truncating a
result when I really meant to say float(x)/y and forgot, since
this is an idiom I rarely need to use.  (This is leaving aside
the issue of code breakage, but I'm talking only about new
code here, and in my case I don't need to maintain backwards
compatibility.)

Another thing I'm going to like is the generators, which 
are very likely going to help me write readable, elegant code
for several coding patterns where I now have to write
cumbersome and relatively unreadable code.

So these two things will help a lot with bullet-proof
programming.  And list comprehensions.  I suspect list 
comprehensions will also let me write more readable 
code (after I get past the ebullient phase many 
seem to go through, and tone it back a little).  There
are therefore at least three things that will help.

Since readability is the single biggest item which will
contribute to bullet-proof programs (after testing!), 
and since many of the new items should tend to increase
readability, I have to disagree with your claim.

-- 
----------------------
Peter Hansen, P.Eng.
peter at engcorp.com