[Python-Dev] AlternativeImplementation forPEP292:SimpleString Substitutions

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

>>>>> "Gareth" == Gareth McCaughan <gmccaughan at synaptics-uk.com> writes:

    Gareth> I am unconvinced that "the vast majority of developers"
    Gareth> will not have work to do that involves a large volume of
    Gareth> ASCII data ... but I'm not sure this is something either
    Gareth> of us is in a position to know.

Oh, I'm pretty sure that an awful lot of developers _will_ have work
to do that involves large volumes of ASCII data.  The question is how
much will that work be facilitated by having all (as opposed to a few
well-chosen) text processing features support returning 8-bit strings
as well as Unicodes?

    Gareth> Perhaps I'm being obtuse, but it's far from clear to me
    Gareth> that this is a net loss for Python users at large.

It's not clear to me, either.  I am just not convinced by hand-waving
that says "there's no difference between human text processing and
other text processing, so any text processing facility should be
available in an 8-bit version."  Maybe that's a straw man, but that's
what </F> was advocating AFAICT.

    Gareth> I still think, though, that a "notice" standard makes for
    Gareth> bad designs.

We're not talking about design here, IMO.  We're talking about
requirements.  Of course if you're going to implement a capability,
you should design it "right."

    Gareth> What people notice is easier to define and to measure than
    Gareth> what actually makes a difference to them. That is not
    Gareth> enough reason to treat it as the only criterion.

It's not.  What I'm saying is that if very few people see a noticable
difference, it should be left up to those few to implement what they
need.

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Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences     http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp
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