[Python-Dev] Re: PEP Politics

[Aahz]

On Tue, Apr 09, 2002, Guido van Rossum wrote:
>
>> If a great feature comes up after development starts, too bad -- the
>> next development cycle will usually be less than nine months away.
> 
> Bah.  For most features, 9 months is an eternity compared to the time
> it takes to code it.  About the only exceptions I recall are new-style
> classes and Unicode; major packages like email or xml also are
> exceptions, but they are usually developed outside the Python CVS tree
> first anyway.

It's not the time for coding that's the issue, it's the time for
testing, documentation, integration, and so on.  But even that's beside
the point; this suggestion is being brought up in the context of the
stability/change thread, and this suggestion would IMO go a long way
toward changing perceptions.

For example, what's the cost in postponing the bool() change to 2.4?
(I'm not talking about adding the builtin the way you just did for 2.2.1
(which I agree with), but changing the type of "not x".)

Note that I'm not pushing this suggestion, but I think your "Bah" is
overstating the opposition.
-- 
Aahz (aahz@pythoncraft.com)           <*>         http://www.pythoncraft.com/

"There are times when effort is important and necessary, but this should
not be taken as any kind of moral imperative."  --jdecker