seeking deeper (language theory) reason behind Python design choice

[Peter J. Holzer]

On 2018-05-19 11:38:09 +0300, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
> "Peter J. Holzer" <hjp-python at hjp.at>:
> > (I wonder whether the notion that “=” and “==” are easy to mix up
> > stems from the early days of C when C was an outlier (most other
> > languages at the time used “=” for equality). Now C is mainstream and
> > it's those other languages that seem odd.)
> 
> I occasionally mix them up one way or another, whether by typing them
> wrong accidentally or through some copy-and-paste mishap. Typos of all
> kind happen all the time, but the "="/"==" mixup isn't easy for the eye
> to spot and it doesn't create a syntax error.
> 
> A famous example:
> 
>    +       if ((options == (__WCLONE|__WALL)) && (current->uid = 0))
>    +                       retval = -EINVAL;

It's famous, but it is also a bad example:

1) It wasn't an accident, it was deliberate.
2) It was spotted.

        hp

-- 
   _  | Peter J. Holzer    | we build much bigger, better disasters now
|_|_) |                    | because we have much more sophisticated
| |   | hjp at hjp.at         | management tools.
__/   | http://www.hjp.at/ | -- Ross Anderson <https://www.edge.org/>
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