Comments

[Alex Martelli]

On Thursday 09 May 2002 12:39 am, Sean 'Shaleh' Perry wrote:
	...
> >> thanks for clearing that up Tim.  Not sure I like the idea of random
> >> strings being used for comments, but at least they are reasonably cheap.
> >
> > Totally random strings would make very unlikeable comments -- how
> > can you be unsure about it?  Just imagine the mishmash of letters,
> > digits, punctuation -- suitable for a Perl script perhaps, but surely not
> > for a Python comment.
>
> You say many interesting things in the rest of this.  However perhaps my
> intent was not clear.

Or perhaps somebody was deadpanningly playing upon the "random" idea.
Hard to say, really.

> BTW 'pastiche' means what?

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:

pas·tiche   Pronunciation Key  (p-stsh, pä-)
n.
A dramatic, literary, or musical piece openly imitating the previous works of 
other artists, often with satirical intent.
A pasticcio of incongruous parts; a hodgepodge: ?In... a city of splendid 
Victorian architecture... there is a rather pointless pastiche of Dickensian 
London down on the waterfront?
(Economist).
[French, from Italian pasticcio. See pasticcio.]


Alex