Python's biggest compromises

[Gerald Klix]

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Anthony_Barker wrote:
| I have been reading a book about the evolution of the Basic
| programming language. The author states that Basic - particularly
| Microsoft's version is full of compromises which crept in along the
| language's 30+ year evolution.
|
| What to you think python largest compromises are?
|
IHMO it is the lambda expression.
These "functions" are not real functions. You can not use
statements in them.

What Python realy needs here is some means to make an expression
from a list of statements (called suite in the syntax defintion).
That given PEP 308 (If-then-else expression) or PEP 318 (Function/Method
Decorator Syntax) are mostly pointless.

Let me give an example:

Suppose there some special braces like (: :) and a exit operator like a
unary ^ one can write a conditional expession like that:
(:
~  if f():
~   ^trueValue
~  else:
~   ^falseValue :)

classmethods can be declared as follows:
cm = (:
~ def im( arg0, arg1 ):
~  return answer
~ ^classmethod( im ) :)

or
cm = classmethod( (:
~ def im( arg0, arg1 ):
~  return answer
~ ^im
~ :) )

obvously this demands for some means to write anonymous functions like

def ( arg0, arg1 ):
~ return arg0 - arg1

semanticly this should transform to

(:
~  def newName( arg0, arg1 ):
~   return arg0 - arg1
~  ^newName :)

giving

cm = def ( arg0, arg1 ):
~ return answer

Ok, I admit that this is difficult to be integrated in
the existing syntax. Perhaps we can not drop the braces
around such expression.

Is this worth writing a PEP?

|
|>"No, we use Unit Testing in Zope".
I am still missing a simple testing framework. doctest
is a good idea, but conflicts with syntax hilighting in most
editors.

|
|
| That said, obvious Basic compromised by using things such as "Option
| Explicit", thereby allowing both dynamic and more static style
| variables. Yahoo groups moved from python to C due to dynamic typing.
This is not a problem. They key to speed is using extension written
in C for performance. Normaly you will find one that sloves your problem.

|
| Non-compiled - obviously there are times when performance matters more
| than other things. Google I believe uses python to prototype (or used)
| and then turns to c++ for heavy lifting.
|
| What about immutable strings? I'm not sure I understand Guido's
| preference for them.
In fact the array module provides mutable strings.

|
| Anthony
| http://xminc.com/anthony

HTH,
Gerald
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