[Python-3000] Radical idea: remove built-in open (requireimport io)

[Raymond Hettinger]

> I wasn't thinking of this from a security POV -- more from the
> perspective of trying to understand roughly what a module does.
> Looking at the imports is often a good place to start.

In the case of open(), this may be a false benefit. Too many other calls (logging, shelve, etc) can open files, so the presence or absence of an IO import is not a reliable indicator of anything.

Also, the character of a script doesn't change when it decides to switch from stdin/stdout to actual files.  I don't think we gain anything here and are instead adding a small irritant. The open() function is so basic, it should remain a builtin. In theory, all builtins could be moved to other modules, but in practice it would be a PITA for day-to-day script writing.

I enjoy being able to dash off quick, expressive lines like this:

   for i, line in enumerate(open('data.txt')): ...

Needing an import for that frequently used function would detract from the enjoyment.

Taking a more global viewpoint, I'm experiencing a little FUD about Py3k.  There were good reasons for introducing the print() function, but then we've made "hello world" a little less lightweight.  Larger applications have some legitimate needs which make abstract base classes attractive, but they are going to add significantly to the learning curve for beginners when using APIs that require them.  Packages were introduced to address the needs of large applications and complicated namespace issues, but now we're about to split the trivially simple string module into a package.  One of the design goals should be to keep the core language as trivially simple/straightforward as possible for day-to-day use.  Requiring an import for file opening runs contrary to that goal.


Raymond