"Jp Calderone" <exarkun@divmod.com> wrote in message news:410FC9FE.6060305@divmod.com...
I like Python(*) because it is simple and generally unsurprising.
Me too.
I think that '@deco' adds complexity, both for beginners and experienced programmers alike,
Decorators will add complexity, regardless of syntax. An advantage of the @ syntax is than it makes the complexiity separable and ignorable for someone learning/teaching basic Python, which includes list literals and function defs. To me, the [deco list] syntax is particularly bad in adding an advanced, esoteric, context-dependent, magic meaning to an hour 1 basic concept.
so I do not see it as an improvement.
Apparently, the question of whether decos are an improvement has at least temporarily been decided in the affirmative. Terry J. Reedy