[Python-Dev] [AST] question about marshal_write_*() fxns

[Brett C.]

Neil Schemenauer wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 21, 2005 at 11:53:04AM -0500, Brett C. wrote:
> 
>>But one of things I am not sure of is what the marshal_write_*() functions 
>>in Python/Python-ast.c are used for.  I assume they output to the marshal 
>>format, but there is mention of a byte stream format and so I thought it 
>>might be that as well.
> 
> 
> I believe the idea is that they can be used to move an AST back and
> forth between Python "space" (e.g. you could build an AST using
> Python code and then marshal it and send it to the C compiler).
> 

Jeremy emailed me and said the same thing.  Name should be changed, though, to 
prevent this confusion.  Jeremy thought maybe the name should be changed.  Here 
are some ideas for a different name (thinking in terms of what the name would 
be changed to for the prefix of the function names):

- byte_encode
- linear_form
- zephyr_encoding
- flat_form
- flat_prefix
- prefix_form
- scheme_form  =)

For those that don't know and it wasn't obvious from the names, the format is a 
prefix-based, linear form.

-Brett