Dr. Dobb's Python-URL! - weekly Python news and links (Aug 23)

[Peter Otten]

Anthony Baxter wrote:

> On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 20:08:07 GMT, Peter Otten <python-url at phaseit.net>
> wrote:
>>     Thanks to the work of Michael Sparks building on previous efforts
>>     by Mark Russell there is already a patch. Anthony Baxter, the
>>     outspoken proponent of the pie syntax, helps with some useful hints,
>>     too.
>>         http://www.python.org/sf/1013835
> 
> ... just to correct the record - my efforts here have not been
> primarily aimed at defending the pie-syntax, but instead aimed at
> shaking out a decent response. I'm trying _very_ hard to make sure
> that any efforts to go back to Guido are "done right". After the
> horror of the ternary operators debacle, I'm trying to make sure that
> community involvement doesn't end up with a complete bum rap.

I made no assumptions about your motives in the above snippet, so this is
not a correction, strictly speaking. 

> As part of this, of course, I _have_ defended the pie-syntax, because
> it's the best I've seen so far. But if something better comes along,
> I'm happy to go with that.

The fraction of your posts I have read went from (I'm sharpening)
"What crap are you proposing as an alternative to '@'? Guido won't listen
anyway" to "If you want it, at least get it right" 
I liked that and that's why you are in the Python-URL.

> My major problems, btw, remaining with the J2 syntax are the choice of
> the new keyword seems an extremely problematic thing, and the simple
> case of a single decorator results in far more clutter. But these are
> purely subjective judgements. (Hell, this entire discussion is now
> pretty much based on subjective or aesthetic judgements).

Yes, and I am clearly among those who from the beginning where more
concerned about the aesthetical impact on the language than the technical
details that affect the actual implementation. 
But even if I wanted, the formal constraints of the Python-URL make it hard
to use it as a means of propaganda...

Peter