[Python-Dev] SWIG and rlcompleter

[Raymond Hettinger]

[Michael Hudson]
> I wonder if dir() should strip non-strings?

-0  The behavior of dir() already a bit magical.  Python is much simpler
to comprehend if we have direct relationships like dir() and vars()
corresponding as closely as possible to the object's dictionary.  If
someone injects non-strings into an attribute dictionary, why should
dir() hide that fact?

Likewise, we would have been better-off if ceval.c didn't pre-process
data before handing it off to API functions (so that negative indices
get handled the same way in operator module functions and in user
defined methods, etc). 

Both Io and Lua have made a design principle out of keeping these
relationships as direct as possible (i.e. a[b] always corresponds to the
call a.__getitem__(b) with no intervening magic, etc.).

<begin side-topic-rant>
The auto-exposure on my camera takes in nine data points and guesses
whether the subject is backlit, whether there is a mix of light and
dark, whether it is more important avoid blown highlights or to miss
shadow detail, etc.  The good news is that it often makes a decent
guess.  The bad news is that I've completely lost the ability to predict
whether I've gotten a good shot based on the light conditions and camera
settings.  IOW, if you make the tools too smart, they become harder to
use.  Leica had it right all along.
<end side-topic-rant>


Raymond