[Python-Dev] code blocks using 'for' loops and generators

[Steven Bethard]

Brian Sabbey <sabbey at u.washington.edu> wrote:
> I agree that this is a confusing way to use generators.  But it is the
> expected way to use "code blocks" as found in other languages.  It would
> take some getting used to that 'for' can be used this way, but I think it
> would be worth it.

I guess I need some more convincing...  I don't find your approach[*], e.g.

def pickled_file(name):
    f = open(name, 'r')
    data yield pickle.load(f)
    f.close()
    f = open(name, 'w')
    pickle.dump(data, f)
    f.close()

for data in pickled_file('greetings.pickle'):
    data.append('hello')
    data.append('howdy')
    continue data

any clearer than, say:

 class PickledFile(object):
     def __init__(self, name):
         self.name = name
         f = open(self.name, 'r')
         self.data = pickle.load(f)
         f.close()
     def close(self):
         f = open(self.name, 'w')
         pickle.dump(self.data, f)
         f.close()
         
 p = PickledFile('greetings.pickle')
 p.data.extend(['hello', 'howdy'])
 p.close()

Note that I'm not using the iteration construct (for-in) because I'm
not really doing an iteration here.  Pehaps I could be taught to read
for-in otherwise, but without an obvious benefit for doing so, I'm
really not inclined to.

Steve

[*] I've renamed your "l" to "data".  The first time I read your post,
it looked even more confusing to me because "l" (lower case L) is
rendered too similarly to "|" (or-bar) in my browser.
-- 
You can wordify anything if you just verb it.
        --- Bucky Katt, Get Fuzzy