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

[Toby Donaldson]

On 9/8/06, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/8/06, Toby Donaldson <tjd at sfu.ca> wrote:
>
> > Teaching is filled with IOUs. We often use things before we completely
> > understand them.
> >
> > Toby
>
> I would like a deeper discussion of why we still need to prompt
> ourselves for input.

Blank screens confuse end users.

> I think the model today is "a person writing code for him or herself"
> i.e. "self as client" -- at least in an early context.
> We're not guiding the unknowing through a menu tree.  We're computer literate,
> fluent. Why would we ask ourselves for raw_input, when it's much easier to
> just pass arguments to functions?

I have no idea what you are talking about.

> If you're *really* coding for a complete newbie, then learn GUI
> programming, meet them where they want to be met.  Otherwise, just
> import and use a namespace, like a real grownup.  All this "ask myself
> for degrees centigrade" stuff is just too 1970s, too BASIC (yech!).

I have a hard time getting through your rhetoric.

> Hey, I'd think about putting self-prompting I/O in a more obscure
> context, like copy (also out of reach as a built-in), maybe making it
> part of sys or something. :-D
>
> Look how C# handles I/O.  That's a good example I think.

Then write a Python library that emulates it and make the world a better place.

> System.console -- would that have been better?  No one asked me, I
> offered no opinion.  End of story then.  The work is done.

Yep, all done. No need to keep posting about. :-)

> Python3000 shouldn't be derailed by politicians, some of whom would,
> in their heart of hearts, like Python to fail (just as many USA
> congressman actually *hate* what the USA is exposing about them).

Good grief. Why do I subscribe to this list?

> As soon as I thought "C#" I felt better.  CPython -> C -> C# ->
> IronPython looks like a dynamite CS sequence.
>
> I'm looking forward to seeing which schools have guts enough to try it.

Good for you. Have fun.

Toby
-- 
Dr. Toby Donaldson
School of Computing Science
Simon Fraser University (Surrey)