i was doing something else, couldn't quite understand the code at first (where does the listcomp begin, where does it end?), so here's a more explicit version: Index: app.py =================================================================== RCS file: /cvs/Twisted/twisted/application/app.py,v retrieving revision 1.3 diff -u -r1.3 app.py --- app.py 21 Sep 2003 01:07:23 -0000 1.3 +++ app.py 27 Sep 2003 22:16:16 -0000 @@ -81,9 +81,14 @@ return None def getApplication(config, passphrase): - s = [(config[t], t) - for t in ['python', 'xml', 'source', 'file'] if config[t]][0] - filename, style = s[0], {'file':'pickle'}.get(s[1],s[1]) + for t in ['python', 'xml', 'source', 'file', 'tapdir', None]: + style = t + filename = config[style] + if filename: + break + if style == 'file': + style = 'pickle' + try: log.msg("Loading %s..." % filename) application = service.loadApplication(filename, style, passphrase)