[Python-Dev] / as path join operator (was: Re: The path module PEP)

[John J Lee]

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006, Tony Meyer wrote:
[...]
> Well, if you include the much larger discussion on python-list,  
> people (including me) have said that removing __div__ is a good  
> idea.  If it's included in the PEP, please at least include a  
> justification and cover the problems with it.  The vast majority of  
> people (at least at the time) were either +0 or -0, not +1.  +0's are  
> not justification for including something.

<bikeshed>

FWLIW, I'm definitely +1 on using / as a path join operator.


>   * It's being used to mean "join", which is the exact opposite  
> of /'s other meaning ("divide").

But it's a very readable way to write a common operation.  Perhaps one
reason the discrepancy you point out doesn't bother me is that division is
the least-used of the +-*/ arithmetic operations.

Also, &, | and ^ seem like some sort of precedent, to my brain (if they
don't to yours, that's fine and I believe you ;-).


>   * Python's not Perl.  We like using functions and not symbols.

I think this is a tasteful, if not parsimonious, use of a symbol.

</bikeshed>


John