[Python-3000] Support for PEP 3131

[Guillaume Proux]

Hello,

On 6/12/07, Baptiste Carvello <baptiste13 at altern.org> wrote:
> context. By contrast, with chineses identifiers, I will not recognise them from
> one another. So I won't be able to make any sense from the code without going
> through the complex task of translating everything.

You would be surprised how well you can do if you would actually try
to recognize a set of Chinese characters, especially if you would use
some tool to put a meaning on them. Well, I never formally learned any
Chinese (nor any Japanese actually) , but I can now effortlessly parse
both languages now.

But really, if you ever find any code with Chinese written all over it
that you would believe might be very useful to you, you would have one
of the following choice:
(a) use a tokenizer and use some tool to do a hanzi -> ascii automatic
transliteration/translation
(b)  try to wrap the Chinese things with an ASCII veil (which would
make you work on your Chinese a bit)  or you could ask your Chinese
girlfriend to help you (WHAT you don't have a Chinese girlfriend yet?
:))
(c) actually contact the person who submitted the code to let him know
you are very much interested in the code....

In most cases, this would give you the possibility to reach out to
different communities and to work together with people with whom you
might never have talked to. From what we can see on English-only
mailing lists, this is the kind of python users we don't normally have
access to currently because they simply are secluded in their own
little universe, in the comfortable realm of their own linguistic
barriers.

Of course, sometimes they step out  and offer a plea for help on
English ML in broken English...
PEP3131 is unlikely to change this. However it can see it might have
two ethnically interesting consequences:
1) Python usage in community where ascii has little place should find
more uses because people will become enpowered with Python and able to
express themselves like never before: my bet is that for example, the
Japanese python commmunity will become stronger and welcome new people
younger and older, and that do not know much English.
2) If ever a program written with non-ASCII character find some good
usage in ascii-only communities, then the usual plea for help will be
reversed. People will seek out e.g. Japanese programmers and request
help, maybe in broken Japanese. From this point on, all programming
communities will be on an equal footing and able to talk together on
the same standpoint. I guess you know "Liberté Egalité Fraternité".
Maybe this should be the PEP subtitle.

> what happens to the keyword "if" (just try it:-). You would have to translate
> the identifiers one by one, which is not practical.

would be possible with the tokenizer actually :)

Droit comme un if !

A bientôt,

Guillaume