[Tutor] Decorators

[Alan Gauld]

>> I really don't like this proposal nor many of the others that currently 
>> exist to seemingly turn Python into Java and C++! If people want to
>
> FWIW there is enough perceived need for this (and adapters or protocols) 
> that it has been invented already two or three times, in PEAK (by Philip 
> ...
> So I don't think it is necessarily people who want to turn Python into 
> Java, but meeting a need that comes up in large projects.

Just because there is a perceived need doesn't make it good.
C++ started out as a neat elegant extension to C that enabled it
to do things that vanilla C couldn't. Then 'perceived need' added
features to support just about every OOP concept and flavour
going, plus adding a few new ones. The end result is a nightmare
language with so many holes gaping that it is almost impossible
to use effectively.

The result of that was the brain-dead Java v1 language which is
now being frantically patched and is rapidly turning into another
rotting pile of syntax. Unfortunately there is a real danger of Python
going the same way.What was an easy to learn and use, ideal language
for medium sized to fairly large scripting projects is trying to turn into
an all encompassing general purpose language which will be
increasingly difficult to use without falling down some new syntax hole.
I would hate for that to happen to Python simply because people are
trying to stretch it beyond its natural envelope.

Sadly Lisp appears to be the only language so far that has succeeded
in extending without losing its inherent simplicity of structure and syntax.
Unfortunately Lisp's simplicity is only apparent to mathemeticians! :-)

Alan G