On 03Apr2012 09:07, Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> wrote: | Lennart Regebro wrote: | > On Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 08:03, Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au> wrote: | >> clock = get_clock(MONOTONIC|HIRES) or get_clock(MONOTONIC) | >> | >> If the symbol names are not the horribleness, can you qualify what API | >> you would like more? | > | > Well, get_clock(monotonic=True, highres=True) would be a vast | > improvement over get_clock(MONOTONIC|HIRES). | | Allowing get_clock(True, True)? Ick. My nomination would be | get_clock(MONOTONIC, HIGHRES) -- easier on the eyes with no |. get_clock already has two arguments - you can optionally hand it a clock list - that's used by monotonic_clock() and hires_clock(). Have a quick glance at: https://bitbucket.org/cameron_simpson/css/src/tip/lib/python/cs/clockutils.p... (I finally found out how to point at the latest revision on BitBucket; it's not obvious from the web interface itself.) | > I also think it should | > raise an error if not found. The clarity and easy of use of the API is | > much more important than how much you can do in one line. How much you can do _clearly_ in one line is a useful metric. | What's unclear about returning None if no clocks match? The return of None is very deliberate. I _want_ user specified fallback to be concise and easy. The example: clock = get_clock(MONOTONIC|HIRES) or get_clock(MONOTONIC) seems to satisfy both these criteria to my eye. Raising an exception makes user fallback a royal PITA, with a horrible try/except cascade needed. Exceptions are all very well when there is just one thing to do: parse this or fail, divide this by that or fail. If fact they're the very image of "do this one thing or FAIL". They are not such a good match for do this thing or that thing or this other thing. When you want a simple linear cascade of choices, Python's short circuiting "or" operator is a very useful thing. Having an obsession with exceptions is IMO unhealthy. Cheers, -- Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au> DoD#743 http://www.cskk.ezoshosting.com/cs/ Because of its special customs, crossposting between alt.peeves and normal newsgroups is discouraged. - Cameron Spitzer