[Python-Dev] Unittest PEP do's and don'ts (BDFL pronouncement)

[Ben Finney]

Ben Finney <ben+python at benfinney.id.au> writes:

> You're proposing to give "assertRaises" a *new* meaning, without
> changing its name to "assertRaisesAndReturnExceptionIfRaises".

This might be misunderstood, so I'll make it clearer.

The name "assert raises" has a strong (and, per Guido, deliberate)
association with the existing 'assert' statement. So the name makes a
strong promise of what the function will do: raise an exception if the
condition is false, and *have no effect* otherwise.

If the behaviour desired is, instead, to return a value, then that is
an important part of what the function will do and needs to be
reflected in the name. "catch exception" was one suggestion for a
name, another might be "get exception raised".

If the idea is to have a *single* function that does both disparate
things, then the name should definitely state that. That it would
result in an overly long name is a strong indicator that the function
is doing too much and should be split.

The result I'm trying to avoid by this is that of having the
externally visible behaviour of functions drift from the promise made
by their names. Either rename the function, or create a new one for
the new functionality.

-- 
 \        “Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be |
  `\              over here, looking through your stuff.” —Jack Handey |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney