[Python-Dev] setdefault's second argument
Tim Peters
tim.peters at gmail.com
Tue Aug 30 22:27:44 CEST 2005
[Fredrik Lundh]
> ...
> Anyone remember why nobody managed to come up with a better name
> for setdefault (which is probably the worst name ever given to a method
> in the standard Python distribution) ?
I suggested a perfect name at the time:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2000-August/008036.html
To save you from following that link, to this day I still mentally
translate "setdefault" to "getorset" whenever I see it. That it
didn't get that name is probably Skip's fault, for whining that
"getorsetandget" would be "more accurate" <wink>. Actually, there's
no evidence that Guido noticed:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2000-August/008059.html
> (if I were in charge, I'd rename it to something more informative. I'd also
> add a "join" built-in (similar to the good old string.join) and a "textfile"
> built-in (similar to open("U") plus support for encodings). but that's me. I
> want my code nice and tidy.)
I'm not sure who is in charge, but I am sure they can be bribed ;-)
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