what does 'for _ in range()' mean?

[Dave Benjamin]

In article <2mui6cFq81c0U1 at uni-berlin.de>, Heike C. Zimmerer wrote:
> Dave Benjamin <ramen at lackingtalent.com> writes:
> 
>> In Python, it's possible to use _ multiple times in the same expression,
> 
> There is, however, one objection to the use of _ as a placeholder for
> a dummy variable: it is used by the gettext module.  So if a program
> may be subject to internationalization, it is advisable to keep this
> name reserved, or you may run into problems.

Speaking of which, am I the only one here that sees this _() function as a
total hack? Usually, having a one-character function (and a global one at
that!) would be considered outrageous, and why not have global string
constants instead of looking up complete sentences as keys in a mapping
table? Not that I could propose a better solution if you're trying to make
an already existing, large application multilingual, but still...

-- 
  .:[ dave benjamin: ramen/[sp00] -:- spoomusic.com -:- ramenfest.com ]:.

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