[Python-Dev] Slash and burn in Tools/scripts. Objections?

[Barry A. Warsaw]

>>>>> "TP" == Tim Peters <tim.one@comcast.net> writes:

    TP> "Innovations" I really like:

    TP> + An -r switch to control whether directory recursion occurs.
    TP> Sometimes you simply don't want to touch subdirectories at all
    TP> (e.g., I don't dare reindent the Lib/irix5 subtree, cuz I've
    TP> got no way to test it).

    TP> + A -d switch for a "dry run", just naming the files that
    TP> *would* change.

And /please/ have long-option alternatives for each of the short
opts.   E.g. --dry-run.  It is okay for there to only be a long-opt
version of a switch.  Also, always have -h/--help and (probably)
-V/--version.  Try to find a similar existing too and match its
options where appropriate (e.g. patch(1) has the essential --dry-run
and -b/--backup).  I don't know if there are standards for this kind
of thing, so make consistency a goal, but don't freak out if it's an
impossible goal to meet <wink>

    TP> See, e.g., Guido's old classfix.py for a different approach.
    TP> That also renames, but renames with a tilde turd at the end
    TP> (jarring on Windows; perhaps .bak is jarring on Unix); may or
    TP> may not (I can't remember how Unix works here) give up if the
    TP> tilde form already exists; and (most important) strives to
    TP> reproduce the original file's permissions.

Please, no tilde files.  AFAIK, that's an Emacs-ism that some other
editors have adopted, but few command line oriented programs have.
One of the beautiful things about using vc-mode or cvs-mode under
(X)Emacs is the total lack of dumb ~ files that need cleaning up
('cause they're all backed up under RCS or CVS anyway, so why make ~
backups?).
    
    TP> I got out of that habit after years of Windows, and got lazy
    TP> about hunting the code down to paste in to new tools.
    TP> Curiously, nobody ever griped!  Maybe it was actually a YDNI
    TP> (You Didn't Need It)?

Oh jeez, acronym explosion time.  Some How, I Think Not Obvious.

-Barry