[Edu-sig] The fate of raw_input() in Python 3000

[Arthur]

John Zelle wrote:

>First up, I support the "petition"/ suggestion whatever you want to call it. 
>
>I'm somewhat disappointed that our discussion here seems to have gotten 
>derailed by Arthur's comments that it's all about ease of teaching. I think I 
>put forward a number or solid arguments about IO being core to programming 
>and the expressiveness of input/raw_input that no one has bothered to 
>address. 
>
I think that we can credit us all with understanding the range of issues.

I said at the beginning that I have never used raw_input, its function 
was not very clear to me, while sys.stdin.readline *is*.  So my 
disagreement seems to extend to the issue of expressiveness. But it also 
extends to my view of the role of Python as an introductory language, as 
glue, as promoting technical literacy. I prefer sys.stdin.readline as 
the more generally literate alternative.  Unless you are telling me that 
stdin, stdout, stderr are themselves obsolete concepts.

I am also trying to say that I do not discount your point as a 
reasonable, and as expressive of your own aesthetics.  Nor do I discount 
your role in the community as a serious and significant one - one that 
has earned, on its merits a serious hearing, IMO.

I am - in my usual clumsy way perhaps - trying to  position this issue 
like  so many  other of these kinds of issues, as one on which 
reasonable people can disagree.  And encouraging you to pursue your 
purpose with some  better indication that you have this  issue in some 
reasonable perspective - win or lose.

Art