Guido sees the light: PEP 8 updated

[Rustom Mody]

On Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 5:18:07 PM UTC+5:30, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
> Paul Rudin :
> 
> > Pete Forman  writes:
> >> Why is it that Python continues to use a fixed width font and
> >> therefore specifies the maximum line width as a character count?
> >
> > Python doesn't require the use of any particular font for editing your
> > code.
> >
> > However programmers tend to use fixed width fonts when editing code
> > because then the visual representation of indentation works
> > consistently. But that's not a python specific thing.
> 
> Prehistoric programming languages considered uppercase/lowercase
> differences insignificant variations. Most modern languages preserve the
> distinction and in fact invite us to make a difference between:
> 
>    BLACK
>    Black
>    black
> 
> Why stop there?
> 
> We need a PEP to distinguish also between:
> 
>  - typefaces (Times New Roman vs Garamond)
> 
>  - weights (bold vs thin)
> 
>  - serifs (with or without)
> 
>  - sizes (8pt vs 11pt)
> 
>  - colors (goldenrod vs maroon)
> 
> 
> Think of all the lesser programming languages that would seem so
> 20th-century when Python takes this step -- which virtually every
> self-respecting web site has already taken in their style sheets!

You are of course being facetious but Forth already beat you to it in Color Forth:
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/ashleyf/2013/11/02/the-beautiful-simplicity-of-colorforth/

More seriously the problem is that when we go from 100 of ASCII to 1 million 
of Unicode its like a digital to analogue jump.
In http://blog.languager.org/2014/04/unicoded-python.html
Ive described that it would be nice if for instance we could write
x ≤ y in place of the clunky x <= y
Likewise x ≠ y would obviate all useless arguments between x <>y or x != y etc

But then there are a slew of lookalikes like 
x ≲ y
x ≦ y

If someone seriously starts embracing unicode in program source, these 
kinds of questions/issues need corresponding serious consideration.

In the same way and like colorforth, it would be better to distinguish
<font-size=huge>identifier</font>
from <font-size=normal>identifier</font>
rather than the current status of distinguishing identifier from Identifier
But then we have a slippery slope:
Should <font-size=12> be same/distinct from <font-size=13> ?