[Python-Dev] unittest argv

[John Keyes]

On 5/1/06, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> On 5/1/06, John Keyes <john at integralsource.com> wrote:
> > On 5/1/06, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> > > Wouldn't this be an incompatible change? That would make it a no-no.
> > > Providing a dummy argv[0] isn't so hard is it?
> >
> > It would be incompatible with existing code, but that code is
> > already broken (IMO) by passing a dummy argv[0].
>
> That's a new meaning of "broken", one that I haven't heard before.
> It's broken because it follows the API?!?!

Fair enough, a bad use of language on my part.

> >I don't
> > think fixing it would affect much code, because normally
> > people don't specify the '-q' or '-v' in code, it is almost
> > exclusively used on the command line.
>
> Famous last words.

Probably ;)

> > The only reason I came across it was that I was modifying
> > an ant task (py-test) so it could handle all of the named
> > arguments that TestProgram.__init__ supports.
> >
> > If the list index code can't change, at a minimum the default value
> > for argv should change from None to sys.argv.
>
> No. Late binding of sys.argv is very important. There are plenty of
> uses where sys.argv is dynamically modified.

Can you explain this some more?  If it all happens in the same
function call so how can it be late binding?

> > Are the tests for unittest.py?
>
> Assuming you meant "Are there tests", yes: test_unittest.py. But it needs work.

Ok thanks,
-John K