[Python-Dev] Re: PEP-317

[Alex Martelli]

On Wednesday 11 June 2003 06:30 pm, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> > > I've now read the PEP, and it simply fails to explain why implicit
> > > instantiation sucks so badly as to require all this pain.  The
> > > arguments of readability and consistency are pretty mild suckage IMO.
> >
> > My next question, then, is whether those arguments are strong
> > enough to justify, for example, recommending against implicit
> > instantiation in PEP 8, or changing the Tutorial's examples.
>
> I think not.  This is something that each project may decide for
> itself.  But I'm at most -0 on this.

An official recommendation (either way!) in the style guide would
help -- particularly if the standard library was eventually edited to
follow it.  What's the added value of having, as e.g. is now the case 
in urllib.py, different statements within the same module such as:

raise IOError(e.errno, e.strerror, e.filename)

and then a few lines later:

raise IOError, ('local file error', 'not on local host')

...?  Seems a gratuitous (even though "pretty mild") 'suckage', as
you put it.  What's the objection to Pronouncing on one preferred
style and putting it in the style guide?


Alex