[Python-Dev] More imformative iterator representations

[Robert Brewer]

Bob Ippolito wrote:
> > Raymond Hettinger wrote:
> >> Q:  Are there any other candidate output formats?
> >> A:  Yes, we could add length information for a more 
> mathematical style
> >> output:
> >>
> >>     reversed(['h', 'g', 'f', ... to 8 objects])
> >
> > The very presence of __len__ might be a strong argument for 
> providing
> > the new repr, and its absence an indicator to avoid such.
> 
> This is essentially getting back to what Armin was saying.. if 
> iterators act more like lists, they will be easier to user and will 
> open up some new doors for optimization potential.  Adding a 
> way to get 
> the length of some iterators essentially makes them list-like or 
> tuple-like.

Agreed. I don't mind the crux of Armin's idea, I was reacting more to
applying such optimizations to enumerate() in particular. Given
sufficient clarification like the above, it'd be easier to swallow.


Robert Brewer
MIS
Amor Ministries
fumanchu at amor.org