[Python-Dev] The Trick
Alex Martelli
aleaxit at yahoo.com
Sat Oct 18 16:11:24 EDT 2003
On Saturday 18 October 2003 06:33 pm, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> I don't like the trick of avoiding the copy if the refcount is one;
> AFAIK it can't be done in Jython.
No, but if it's only a small optimization, who cares? Anyway, the
objection that these functions might be called by _C_ code who's
holding the only reference to a PyObject* probably kills The Trick
(particularly my hope of moving it into PySequence_List whether
copysort survived or not).
> I think the application area is too narrow to warrant a built-in,
> *and* lists shouldn't grow two similar methods. Let's keep the
> language small!
Aye aye, captain.
Can we dream of a standard library module of "neat hacks that
don't really warrant a built-in" in which to stash some of these
general-purpose, no-specific-appropriate-module, useful functions
and classes? Pluses: would save some people reimplementing
them over and over and sometimes incorrectly; would remove
any pressure to add not-perfectly-appropriate builtins. Minuses:
one more library module (the, what, 211th? doesn't seem like
a biggie). Language unchanged -- just library. Pretty please?
> (I know, by that argument several built-ins shouldn't exist. Well,
> they might be withdrawn in 3.0; let's not add more.)
"Amen and Hallelujah" to the hope of slimming language and
built-ins in 3.0 (presumably the removed built-ins will go into a
"legacy curiosa" module, allowing a "from legacy import *" to
ease making old code run in 3.0? seems cheap & sensible).
Alex
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