Oren Tirosh wrote:
What would writing
isinstance(obj, types.int)
ever gain you except restricting execution to 2.3+?
It's like asking what do you gain by using string methods instead of the string module.
no, it's not. it's not like that at all. as michael pointed out, we've already added a *third* way to access type objects in 2.2. you're adding a *fourth* way. string methods were added at a time when Python went from one to two different string types; they solved a real implementation problem. reducing/eliminating the need for the string module was a side effect.
It's part of a slow, long-term effort to clean up the language while trying to minimize the impact on existing code.
or as likely, part of a slow, long-term effort by to make Python totally unusable for any serious software engineering... "who cares about timtowtdi? we add a new one every week!" "we know what's better for you. you don't." "deprecation guaranteed!" (etc)