[Python-Dev] Re: [Python-checkins] python/dist/src/Python bltinmodule.c, 2.292.10.1, 2.292.10.2

[Alex Martelli]

On Saturday 25 October 2003 11:18 pm, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> > Modified Files:
> >       Tag: release23-maint
> > 	bltinmodule.c
> > Log Message:
> > changed builtin_sum to use PyNumber_InPlaceAdd -- unchanged semantics but
> > fixes performance bug with sum(lotsoflists, []).
>
> I think this ought to be reverted, both in 2.3 and 2.4.  Consider this
> code:

I have reverted it; it's obviously true that, by causing side effects on the 
2nd argument, the fix as I had commited it could change semantics.  I
apologize for not thinking of this (and adding the missing unit-tests to
catch this, see next paragraph).

If it was up to me I would still pursue the possibility of using 
PyNumber_InPlaceAdd, for example by only doing so if the second
argument could first be successfully copy.copy'ed into the result and falling 
back to PyNumber_Add otherwise.  The alternative of leaving sum as a
performance trap for the unwary -- an "attractive nuisance" in legal terms --
would appear to me to be such a bad situation, as to warrant such
effort (including adding unit-tests to ensure sum does not alter its second
argument, works correctly with a non-copyable 2nd argument, etc).

However, it's YOUR decision, and you have already made it clear in
another mail that your objections to remedying this performance bug are
such that no possible solution will satisfy them.  If a type gives different
results for "a = a + b" vs "a += b", there is no way sum can find this out;
and while, were it my decision, I would not care to support such weird
cases at such a huge performance price, it's not my decision.  Similarly
for types which let you do "a = copy.copy(b)" but do NOT return a valid
copy of b, or return b itself even though it's mutable, and so on weirdly.

I'm just very sad that I didn't think of this performance-trap back when
the specs of sum were first being defined.  Oh well:-(.  Can I at least add
a warning about this performance trap to the docs at
http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/built-in-funcs.html ?


Alex