"Guido van Rossum" <guido@python.org> wrote:

Does anyone else have the feeling that discussions with Mr. MacLaren don't usually bear any fruit?

Yes. I do. My ability to predict the (technical) future is good; my ability to persuade people of it is almost non-existent. However, when an almost identical thread to this one occurs in a decade's time, I shall be safely retired. And, assuming no changes to the basic models, when one occurs in twenty years' time, I shall be forgotten. Such is life. Regards, Nick Maclaren, University of Cambridge Computing Service, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. Email: nmm1@cam.ac.uk Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679