What makes functions special?

[Ben Finney]

Eric Snow <ericsnowcurrently at gmail.com> writes:

> On Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 4:41 PM, Ben Finney <ben+python at benfinney.id.au> wrote:
> > Eric Snow <ericsnowcurrently at gmail.com> writes:
> >> No other objects have code objects. No other objects in Python have
> >> this special optimization.
> >
> > Yes. The two facts are directly related.
[…]

> > Yes, functions are different and are treated differently. What's
> > your question?
>
> My point is that functions are special in Python because they provide
> a built in optimization via the special execution of code objects.

Functions are special because they define a code object.

> I would like to know if it is really that big a deal

Is *what* really that big a deal?

Perhaps this could be clearer if you'd describe what it is that
surprises you, and how you'd expect it to be different.

> and if the optimized execution of code objects is a CPython
> implementation detail or a specification of the language.

I don't know that it's a specification. But functions result in code
objects, and other statements don't; I am not seeing why treating them
differently is surprising.

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 \          “I see little commercial potential for the Internet for at |
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Ben Finney