Perl is worse!

[Moshe Zadka]

On Fri, 28 Jul 2000, Steve Lamb wrote:

>     So I ask you this /VERY/ simple question.  Why can't Python do both?  Hm?
> What is wrong with taking 1 + "1", converting the "1" to a 1 and adding it
> together?  If it is a string that cannot be converted to an integer, throw an
> exception, otherwise, do it.  Then that preserves the 1 + "foo" exception and
> also does the sane thing of getting rid of types when it makes sense to do so.

That is the worst thing it could possibly do! You'd have a program that
works fine on testing with your configuration files, and blows up in the
user's face when he makes a typing error.

>     Hell, why do an exception at all?  Why not do what is already done with
> integers, reals and floats?  

Because numbers are numbers and strings are not. Given, Python's numeric 
model is not very good. Why should the rest of the language suffer?

--
Moshe Zadka <moshez at math.huji.ac.il>
There is no IGLU cabal.
http://advogato.org/person/moshez