String functions: what's the difference?

[Harro de Jong]

<gry at ll.mit.edu> wrote:


> One suggestion: when asking questions here it's a good idea to always
> briefly mention which version of python and what platform (linux,
> windows, etc) you're using. 

Of course, forgot about that. It's Python 2.4.2 for Windows. 

> 
> For testing performance the "timeit" module is great.  Try something
> like:
>   python -mtimeit -s 'import string;from myfile import isLower'
> "isLower('x')"

Thanks for the pointer. I was using time.time(), which I now see isn't
very accurate on Windows. 

> 
> You didn't mention the test data, i.e. the character you're feeding to
> isLower.
> It might make a difference if the character is near the beginning or
> end of the range.

(slaps forehead) I used "A" as the input, of course that would make a
difference.   

...

> Have fun with python!

If the few days I've spent on it so far are any indication, I will. This
is my first foray into programming since college; I like 'How to Think
Like a Computer Scientist' much better than my impenetrable C textbook.

-- 
Harro de Jong
remove the extra Xs from xmsnet to mail me