[Python-Dev] "funny".split("")

[Christian Tismer]

David Abrahams wrote:

> There's a reason to pursue the OP's expected result as opposed to just
> settling for list("funny"). If we pick a reasonable behavior for this
> case, it will save some number of people from having to write:
> 
>     if len(sep):
>         divided = s.split(sep)
>     else:
>         divided = list(s)
> 
> Which just makes the code harder-to-read.
> 
> What's the point in making s.split('') an error? Assuming you document
> the behavior, the only people served by the error message are people who
> haven't bothered to read the docs. However, their code is broken anyway.
> 
> Causing an error when there's the slightest ambiguity in what the code
> might mean in the absence of documentation doesn't serve anyone. I think
> the introduction of the MRO is in part motivated by this philosophy, and
> it's a good idea, when there's a sensible non-error behavior, to
> implement it.


I'll keep my fingers crossed - chris

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