[DB-SIG] In praise of pyformat

[Carl Karsten]

> As a final note, on backwards compatibility - that was amusing. The
> two sides were trying to define two things with one definition. Let me
> try with two definitions:
> 
> A module is backwards compatible if code that used the documented APIs
> of the previous version of the module will work unchanged with the
> current version.
> 
> A specification is backwards compatible if it is possible for an
> implementation of the current version to be backwards compatible with
> an implementation of the previous version.
> 
> I think both of these are desirable properties.

Thanks, I was wondering why I was having trouble getting my head around the 
whole thing.

I think I will give up my crusade to eradicate the 'extra' formats.  I am not 
completely convinced it isn't a good idea, but I haven't been able to put 
together an example of how it would work, and maybe it won't be so bad after all.

Carl K