What does Python fix?

[Richard Jones]

On Sun, 29 Sep 2002 7:55 pm, Henrik Motakef wrote:
> Courageous <jkraska at san.rr.com> writes:
> > >Let's not forget that Python's syntax (most of all the significance of
> > >whitespace) is considered strange at least by about all novices. In
> > >both cases - significant whitespace and lots of irritating superflous
> > >parentheses - people don't just get used to it, but tend to like it
> > >after a while.
> >
> > I'm fairly sure that you meant to say "Lisp" where you said Python,
> > right?
>
> No, I'm talking about how newbies tend to react when you tell them
> that block structure in Python is determined by indentation.

What do newbies care? I'm sure if they have a problem with indentation for 
blocks, they're going to have more trouble with remembering to put additional 
punctuation either side of the blocks, in the right places...

Unless, of course, your "newbie" is actually someone who has had the C-style 
brace crap engraved on their mind before encountering Python...

Of course, if you're talking from experience with having taught newbie 
programmers, and found that "about all" of them consider Python's blocking 
syntax "strange", then I'll happily take all this back :)

And if those same people don't find lisp's syntax (and hell, lisp in general) 
"strange", then I'll doubly apologise :)


     Richard