ElementTree should parse string and file in the same way

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:36:57 +0100, Diez B. Roggisch wrote:

> And codemonkeys know that in python
> 
> doc = et.parse(StringIO(string))
> 
> is just one import away

Yes, but to play devil's advocate for a moment, 

doc = et.parse(string_or_file)

would be even simpler.

Is there any reason why it should not behave that way? It could be as 
simple as adding a couple of lines to the parse method:

if isinstance(arg, str):
    import StringIO
    arg = StringIO(arg)

I'm not saying it *should*, I'm asking if there's a reason it *shouldn't*.

"I find it aesthetically distasteful" would be a perfectly acceptable 
answer -- not one I would agree with, but I could accept it.



-- 
Steven