On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 4:42 PM, Alexander Belopolsky <alexander.belopolsky@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 2:20 PM, Paul Moore <p.f.moore@gmail.com> wrote:

Um, as someone significantly older than 10 years old, I don't know how
to type a lambda character on my Windows UK keyboard...

FWIW, in IPython/Jupyter notebooks one can type \lambda followed by a tab to get the λ character.  The difficulty of typing is a red herring.  Once it is a part of the language, every editor targeted at a Python programmer will provide the means to type λ with fewer than 6 keystrokes (6 is the number of keystrokes needed to type "lambda" without autocompletion.)  The unfamiliarity is also not an issue.  I am yet to meet a Python programer who knows what the keyword "lambda" is but does not know how the namesake Greek character looks.

I am +0 on this feature.  I would be +1 if λ was not already a valid identifier.

This is one of those features that can easily be ignored by someone who does not need it, but can significantly improve the experience of those who do.


I -1 on this feature. Sorry to be blunt. Are we going to add omega, delta, psilon and the entire Greek alphabet? There should be one and only one way to write code in Python as far as a valid identifier is concerned. Is there an existing exception? I am not saying the experiences of others do not matter, but we should take a step back and see does this actually make sense?

Also, how do you exactly enter this character for someone who doesn't really enter unicode character except for the ASCII alphanumeric characters on a daily basis? How many users can we retain and even convert with this approach? Is it really worth the go?

Thanks.

John

On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 4:42 PM, Alexander Belopolsky <alexander.belopolsky@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 2:20 PM, Paul Moore <p.f.moore@gmail.com> wrote:

Um, as someone significantly older than 10 years old, I don't know how
to type a lambda character on my Windows UK keyboard...

FWIW, in IPython/Jupyter notebooks one can type \lambda followed by a tab to get the λ character.  The difficulty of typing is a red herring.  Once it is a part of the language, every editor targeted at a Python programmer will provide the means to type λ with fewer than 6 keystrokes (6 is the number of keystrokes needed to type "lambda" without autocompletion.)  The unfamiliarity is also not an issue.  I am yet to meet a Python programer who knows what the keyword "lambda" is but does not know how the namesake Greek character looks.

I am +0 on this feature.  I would be +1 if λ was not already a valid identifier.

This is one of those features that can easily be ignored by someone who does not need it, but can significantly improve the experience of those who do.

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