RELEASED Python 2.5 (alpha 1)

[Michele Simionato]

Michael Ekstrand wrote:
> Michele Simionato wrote:
> > Michael Ekstrand wrote:
> >> After reading AMK's survey of what's new in Python 2.5, I am suitably
> >> impressed.  As usual, I can't wait to start using the cool new
> >> features... extended generators? (mind is currently swimming with the
> >> question of "can I implement Scheme's call-with-current-continuation
> >> using extended generators".)
> >
> > No.
>
> Oh well. I'll try not to think too hard about it then.
>
> The day Python (without using Stackless) has true continuations will be
> a happy day.

It is interesting that the support for full continuations was removed
in recent
versions of Stackless (I think there was support in version 1, not in
versions
2 and 3, but I am not a Stackless user so please correct me if I am
wrong).

Coroutines give you more control on your program flow, but not as much
as
full continuations. With full continuations you can store the current
state
of your program (with some restrictions, the program should not have
side effects or interact with an external environment) and at a later
time
go back to to that state. In a sense you can go back in time (but only
in
points that your program has already travelled) whereas with coroutine
you can go just in one direction in the time. A nice thing you can do
with full continuations is a modal Web server
(seehttp://www.double.co.nz/scheme/modal-web-server.html).
But this is definitely OT for this thread, so let me stop here ;)


Michele Simionato