[Python-Dev] Optional arguments for str.encode /.decode

Barry Warsaw barry at python.org
Fri Nov 7 10:14:54 EST 2003


On Fri, 2003-11-07 at 10:06, Aahz wrote:

> Change this to
> 
>     def zlib_encode(input,errors='strict', opts=None):
>         if opts:
>             if 'level' in opts:
>                 ...
> 
> >>> 'which witch has which witches wristwatch'.encode('zlib', {'level':9})

Actually, I like that less.  It looks gross to me.  Keyword arguments
are a bit nicer, but do open the possibility for interference with
future arguments to .encode() and .decode().  I'm probably +0 with the
original and -0 with this style.

> and I'm +1.  Otherwise I'm somewhere around -0; I agree with Barry about
> possible pollution.  This change is a small inconvenience for greater
> decoupling.  opts could be an instance instead, but I think a straight
> dict probably makes the most sense.

Actually what I was complaining about probably is too late to "fix".  It
was the use of a string for the first argument to .encode() and
.decode().  I dislike that for the same reason we don't do
obj.__dict__['attribute'] on a regular basis. ;)

-Barry





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