On Sun, Apr 01, 2018 at 07:39:31AM +0000, Marius Räsener wrote:
Ok I see this is nothing for any 3.x release. [...] So, if at all, maybe something for Python 4 :)
No, that's the wrong conclusion to draw. There are four options: (1) Change the behaviour of triple-quoted strings, immediately as of 3.8. This is out. It will be out in 3.9, and 4.0. (2) Change the behaviour of triple-quoted strings using a warning period and a __future__ import. This would probably take a minimum of three releases, but it could start in 3.8. However, anyone arguing in favour of this would have to make a VERY good case for it. (3) Leave the behaviour of triple-quoted strings alone, but introduce new behaviour via a method, or a new prefix. Again, this could start as early as 3.8 if someone makes a strong case for it. (4) The status quo: nothing changes. Python 4 will not be special like Python 3 was. Any new features in Python 4 that break backwards compatibility will still be required to go through a transition period, involving warnings and/or __future__ imports. Python will possibly never again go through a major break like Python 2 to 3, but if it does, it may not until Python 5 or 6. So if you think that waiting a few years means we will be free to make this change, no, option (1) will still be out, even in Python 4. Personally, I find the situation with triple-quoted strings and indentation to be a regular low-level annoyance, and I'd like to see a nice solution sooner rather than later. Thank you for raising this issue again, even if nothing comes from it. -- Steve