[Python-Dev] PEP 3000 and new style classes

[Guido van Rossum]

Can you all just stop discussing this? In the last 4 contributions
nothing has been added that hasn't been said yet. It's not going to
change.  Get used to it.There are more important issues.

On 9/9/05, Russell E. Owen <rowen at cesmail.net> wrote:
> In article <20050909203037.GA7577 at solar.trillke.net>,
>  hpk at trillke.net (holger krekel) wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, Sep 09, 2005 at 11:31 -0700, Russell E. Owen wrote:
> > > In article <20050908211307.GA506 at mithrandi.za.net>,
> > >  Tristan Seligmann <mithrandi-python-dev at mithrandi.za.net> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Why does it matter if the single statement you insert is spelled
> > > > "  metaclass   = type" instead of "from   future   import whatever"?
> > > > Remember, unlike the division example, you would only have to insert one
> > > > statement, as opposed to changing every use of integer division.
> > >
> > > It matters because "metaclass = type" is completely obscure. How would
> > > any non-expert have a clue what it means?
> >
> > How would this non-expert have a clue what
> > "from __future__ import new_style_classes" means?
> 
> Because it's plain english.
> 
> Also because it's easy to look up. For example:
> 
> google for:
> - python "from __future__ import"; the third link is useful, though a
> bit technical; presumably it's is in the manual somewhere as well
> - python "new style classes" python; the first link is useful
> 
> If and when the __future__ directive under discussion is added, I would
> try googling for the whole line and probably hit it on the first go.
> 
> Now try that with "metaclass = type". Good luck. I tried all sorts of
> variants and came up with nothing except a tutorial on metaclasses,
> which was interesting, but NOT a ready explanation of what "metaclass =
> type" does.
> 
> -- Russell
> 
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-- 
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)