[Python-Dev] PEP 3000 and exec

[Christopher Armstrong]

On 10/11/05, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> My idea was to make the compiler smarter so that it would recognize
> exec() even if it was just a function.
>
> Another idea might be to change the exec() spec so that you are
> required to pass in a namespace (and you can't use locals() either!).
> Then the whole point becomes moot.

I think that's a great idea. It goes a step towards a more analyzable
Python, and really, I've never found a *good* use case for allowing
this invisible munging of locals. I would guess that it would simplify
the implementation, given that there are currently so many special
cases around exec, including when used with nested scopes.

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