[Python-Dev] cpython (2.7): Fix comment blocks. Adjust blocksize to a power-of-two for better divmod

[Nick Coghlan]

On 24 June 2013 13:37, Raymond Hettinger <raymond.hettinger at gmail.com> wrote:
> But it isn't worth all the second guessing (and what feels like sniping).
> I've worked on this code for almost a decade.  As far as I can tell, none
> of the participants in this thread has ever previously shown any interest
> in the deque object.  It is discouraging to have a simple parameter
> change and struct reordering reverted.  This thread has offered zero
> support or encouragement for my work.  The python-dev
> social environment appears to be degrading over time.
> I only have a few hours of development time each week
> and now I'm wasting that time responding to these emails
> (it may go with the territory, but it is a waste none-the-less).

The problem wasn't the change in and of itself, it was:
- the fact it happened in a stable branch
- the fact there was no explanation, even a week after one was
requested (not even a quick "I do have the data to back up this
assertion, please leave the commit alone until I have time to provide
it").

The mailing lists, commit history, source code comments and files like
dict_notes.txt are an important part of understanding *why* various
parts of CPython are the way they are.

So, no, "responding to emails" is *not* a waste of anybody's time. It
helps to ensure important knowledge is transferred to more than the
person that was responsible for the commit. This is *especially*
important for areas where one person has substantially more knowledge
and experience than others (alleviating that kind of problem is one of
the reasons Brett, myself and others have been embarked on a
multi-year campaign to make the import system less arcane and
mysterious, and why I want to make the startup code more
comprehensible).

Cheers,
Nick.

--
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia