[Python-ideas] Retrying EAFP without DRY

[Mike Meyer]

"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen at xemacs.org> wrote:

>Jim Jewett writes:
>
> > So it doesn't seem like a loop because you hope to do it only once?
>
>With s/hope/expect/, that hits the nail on the head.
>
>I don't think syntax can express that cleanly, but I can't help
>thinking it's of good thing if somebody like Mike tries to find a way.

Right. Doing it more than once is an exceptional case.  And is more exceptional every time through.

That using an LBYL idiom, or simply repeating yourself, means you don't need a loop says to me that it isn't really a loop.  Which is why using loop to write it feels wrong. 

That I translated into a loop was because the only tools Python has for this is a loop.  That no more makes it a loop than map being a function call makes it not a loop. 

I'd say that using retry to write what really is a loop (ie - you can't know a maximum number of iterations at compile time) would constitute abuse. A very attractive abuse, at that. Which certainly counts against out.

>He might succeed!

Or someone else will figure it out after I've correctly described the problem.
-- 
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