Python is DOOMED! Again!

[Albert van der Horst]

In article <mailman.17951.1421906568.18130.python-list at python.org>,
Ethan Furman  <ethan at stoneleaf.us> wrote:
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>
>On 01/21/2015 08:30 PM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>>
>> So what is this unspeakable, nightmarish, cryptic abomination going to look
>> like? Here's an example from PEP 484:
>>
>> def greeting(name: str) -> str:
>>     return 'Hello ' + name
>>
>>
>> I don't know about you, but I think anyone who cannot read that and intuit
>> that argument `name` is a string and the return result is also a string
>
>There is nothing inherently intuitive about that syntax.  The : makes it
>look like a dictionary (but it isn't) and the
>-> looks like a pointer to something (but it isn't).

It is too bad `` -> ''  as a token is now taken.
I wanted to propose to replace the ternary syntax
lambda  ..  : ..
by a regular operator
.. -> ..
then we could have
x -> x**2
instead of
lambda x : x**2

Moreover the value of a function would be a lambda

not
def square(x): x**2
but
square = x->x**2

or

mult  = x,y ->
   result = 0
   for i in range(x):
      result +=y
   return result

doing away with the ternary operator def

def .. ( .. ) : ..

replacing it by two binary operators, one of them (=) being thoroughly familiar.

It is horrifying to see that def is now becoming a quaternary operator

def .. ( .. ) --> .. : ..


Also name:str is the wrong order.

I would propose to use :: to prevent confusion.
Then I would allow  <type>:: in front of all objects everywhere
to trigger a warning if at that point the objects is not of the right type.
I think it is quite natural that float: sets the expectation
that a float is coming.

float:: x = get_some_crap_from_an obscure_windows_box( a, B, c,
   a_lighter, some_list, REAL_ISB_MASK )

>
>> is probably going to have bigger troubles with Python than just type-hinting.
>
>Yup, true -- I do find writing meta-classes takes extra work.  ;)
>
>--
>~Ethan~
>
>
>
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-- 
Albert van der Horst, UTRECHT,THE NETHERLANDS
Economic growth -- being exponential -- ultimately falters.
albert at spe&ar&c.xs4all.nl &=n http://home.hccnet.nl/a.w.m.van.der.horst