a handful of critical exceptional cases (None, True, False are the only
ones that come to mind), names can be rebound.
The following genuinely surprised me. I was trying to show something different in reply, but I think the actual behavior makes the point even more:
>>> eval(repr(Ellipsis))
Ellipsis
>>> eval(repr(...))
Ellipsis
>>> Ellipsis = 42
>>> eval(repr(...))
42
This is *strange* behavior. I don't expect every sequence of characters to round trip `eval(repr())`, but I kinda expect it to be mostly idempotent.
>>> foo = "bar"
>>> eval(repr(foo))
'bar'
>>> eval(repr(foo)) == eval(repr(eval(repr(foo))))
True
>>> eval(repr(None)) == eval(repr(eval(repr(None))))
True
Obviously I know there are some repr()'s that cannot be eval()'d. But this isn't the same concern as e.g. a file handle or a user class.
I don't find this issue any huge wart in Python, but it's a funny corner. Here's a proposal I'll throw out:
Let's change the behavior of the Ellipsis object slightly to have either a .__call__() or .__getitem__() method that returns itself, no matter what argument is passed.
Then we could have this behavior:
>>> repr(...)
...[Ellipsis]
Or
>>> repr(...)
...(Ellipsis)
I don't know which looks better, but neither look terrible to me. That would produce a more explanatory repr() while also preserving idempotence.
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the lives and control the thoughts of homo faber. Ideas, once born,
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