[Python-Dev] anonymous blocks

[Ka-Ping Yee]

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> Perhaps it could be even simpler:
>
>     [assignment_target '=']* expr ':' suite
>
> This would just be an extension of the regular assignment statement.

It sounds like you are very close to simply translating

    expression... function_call(args):
        suite

into

    expression... function_call(args)(suitefunc)

If i understand what you proposed above, you're using assignment
as a special case to pass arguments to the inner suite, right?  So:

    inner_args = function_call(outer_args):
        suite

becomes:

    def suitefunc(inner_args):
        suite
    function_call(outer_args)(suitefunc)

?

This could get a little hard to understand if the right-hand side
of the assignment is more complex than a single function call.
I think the meaning would be unambiguous, just non-obvious.  The
only interpretation i see for this:

    x = spam('foo') + eggs('bar'):
        suite

is this:

    def suitefunc(x):
        suite
    spam('foo') + eggs('bar')(suitefunc)

but that could seem a little too mysterious.  Or you could (in a
later compiler pass) forbid more complex expressions on the RHS.

On another note, would there be any difference between

    x = spam():
        suite

and

    x = spam:
        suite

?


-- ?!ng