[Python-Dev] deprecate input()?

[Tim Peters]

[Skip Montanaro]
> Yes, but what if the program containing calls to input() get shipped to
> someone else's computer?  It just seems to me that a) input is almost
> never what you want to call and that b) it would seem to a naive
> programmer to be the correct way to ask the user for a line of input.

One of my favorite papers for the upcoming Python Conference describes the
use of Python in a CAD system for chip design.  The authors had indeed used
input(), and didn't know that it eval'ed expressions.  The program's users
discovered it first, succumbing to a natural urge to type expressions in the
input fields.  One of the things that made this paper a favorite is that the
authors didn't whine about this:  to the contrary, they were delighted to
get the kudos for Guido's good intuition about what a kick-ass input()
function should do.

guido-never-drives-before-a-few-stiff-drinks-either<wink>-ly y'rs  - tim