On 12/15/2011 4:24 PM, Ethan Furman wrote:
Ned Batchelder wrote:
On 12/15/2011 3:59 PM, Tim Delaney wrote:
On 16 December 2011 07:42, Ned Batchelder wrote:
This is another place where Python is inconsistent. We're told, "lists are for homogenous sequences of varying length, like a C array; tuples are for heterogenous aggregations of known length, like a C struct." Then we define a function foo(*args), and Python gives us a tuple! :-(
How is that inconsistent? At the point where the tuple is constructed, it has a known length. And it's definitely a heterogenous aggregation.
I think where you're getting confused is that you're thinking of a *single* struct definition for every tuple. But the concept you should have is that each tuple has its own struct definition. And with functions, the structure is defined at function call time.
Tim, this seems misguided to me. Finish that foo function definition: it will *have* to have "for a in args:" Since I don't know the length of args when I write the function, I have to treat it as an unknown length. What good is a "structure" that changes length and definition with every instance? I think you're trying too hard to fit the reality into the theory.
Python is a dynamic language -- why can't it have dynamic structs?
I honestly don't know how to interpret this. In what way is it a "struct" if I have no idea how many fields it has, or how they might differ from each other? I think we've lost the utility of this discussion. --Ned.
~Ethan~