2 new comment-like characters in Python to aid development?

[dbhbarton at googlemail.com]

> Yes, it has. It says "disregard the following characters until EOL".
> If you remove it, the following code will be interpreted as ...
> code (and not be disregarded).

and ! would say "disregard the following characters until End Of
Program". Is it really so different?


> > Well I'm not a big fan of decorators so I know how you must feel.
>
> Mh, not sure -- why do you have decorators in mind? I don't dislike
> them.

Just because I remember reading similar aesthetic arguments against
the @ syntax- that it looked alien, messy, unpythonic and obfuscating.
I certainly agree with the latter point even if I find the former ones
a little hand-wavey for my tastes.


> I think it's much cleaner to have language and "fixme" levels
> separate. "fixme" features can then depend fully on the editor/IDE
> and don't have to be part of the source code (though they may).

That's certainly a solid ideological argument against the "WIP
character". Maybe I should just change my editor!

It sounds like other Python users *do* like to do the kind of things I
suggested, but seasoned users would rather rely on macros and features
of specific editors. Unfortunately, to a newbie like myself, these
seem like obscure 'tricks' to be mastered rather than simple built-in
conveniences that any newbie can profit from.

I suppose my ideology is that Python's greatest strength is (and focus
should be) its visual simplicity and ease of learning, making
programming more accessible to the masses. But hey I'm just a fresh-
faced conscript. I guess I've got to leave the battle planning to the
five-star generals on the hill!

Thanks for all the comments and the spirit of tolerance.

dave