[Edu-sig] new python // and /

[Andrew Harrington]

As I gear up to write or translate lessons for Crunchy Frog, I would 
like feedback on one general issue: 
//  -- the new integer division operator.

// is already legal in Python 2.4, though / still means the same thing 
for integers.  That is to change in Python 2.5, that is already in alpha 
2: 
/ as integer division will able to be set to mean the old operator or 
always mean real division (I forget which is the default in 2.5).

I think this is an excellent change in Python.  I would encourage using 
// for integer division in all newly written lessons.  There is the 
issue in 2.4 that you still have to go through an extra cast if you want 
real division,
x = 5
y = 3
real_quotient = float(x)/y

but there is nothing for that at the moment

-- 
  Andrew N. Harrington
  Computer Science Department      Undergraduate Program Director
  Loyola University Chicago        http://www.cs.luc.edu/~anh
  512B Lewis Towers (office)       Office Phone: 312-915-7982
  Snail mail to Lewis Towers 416   Dept. Fax:    312-915-7998
  820 North Michigan Avenue        aharrin at luc.edu
  Chicago, Illinois 60611