[Edu-sig] "do" as a keyword

[Brian Blais]

On Dec 12, 2007, at Dec 12:11:26 AM, kirby urner wrote:

> Also people have different styles, like you
> don't need to use a bare True, but might
> go like:
>
> untouched = True
>
> while untouched:
>     keepmoving()
>
> or something similar.
>
>

True, and this is what I do, but I find myself more often than not,  
in the robotics context, thinking of the loop in "until" mode, and  
then reversing the logic to fit it into the "while".

> I wouldn't make "intuitive" the guiding light in all cases, as it's
> often just code for "conditioned reflex" or "what we're used to."
> Usually beginners outgrow their initial discomfort, like when
> learning to drive stick instead of automatic or whatever.
>


That is also true, if the intuition were limited to the beginner.   
Unfortunately, I find myself thinking in this way, and I don't  
consider myself to be a beginner, and I have a firm understanding of  
while, for, and if structures.  I think it is usually in the context  
of robotics, or moving agents, that I find that I think in terms of  
"until".  I recognize that it is a special case, and not in the  
pythonic tradition, and I am not endorsing adding it for that reason.

I'll try the while-true-if-break construct on for size, and see how  
well it fits my brain after using it for a while.


					bb


-- 
Brian Blais
bblais at bryant.edu
http://web.bryant.edu/~bblais



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