[Python-ideas] raw strings

[Guido van Rossum]

On 10/1/07, Steven Bethard <steven.bethard at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On 10/1/07, Steven Bethard <steven.bethard at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > On 10/1/07, Clark Maurer <cmaurer at slickedit.com> wrote:
> > > > The current implementation doesn't allow for a trailing backslash in the
> > > > string.
> > >
> > > I believe that will change in Python 3.0.
> > >
> > > The discussion is here:
> > > http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-3000/2007-May/007684.html
> > >
> > > And Ron Adam's current patch is here:
> > > http://bugs.python.org/issue1720390
>
> On 10/1/07, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> > I'm still against actually. That's why the patch hasn't been applied yet.
>
> Sorry, my mistake. I read the thread as being somewhat in support of the change.

I admit I've been wobbling a lot on this.

> Anyway, to the OP, if you want to make this happen, you should help
> Ron out with his patch.  (Code has a much better chance of convincing
> Guido than anything else does.)

Not in this case. It's more the philosophical distinction -- are raw
strings meant primarily to hold regexes or Windows pathnames? These
two use cases have opposite requirements for trailing backslash
treatment. I know the original use case that caused them to be added
to the language is regexes, and that's still the only one I use on a
regular basis.

-- 
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)