[Python-Dev] PEP: Adding data-type objects to Python

[Travis E. Oliphant]

Greg Ewing wrote:
> Nick Coghlan wrote:
> 
>> Greg Ewing wrote:
> 
>>> Also, what if I want to refer to fields by name
>>> but don't want to have to work out all the offsets
> 
>> Use the list definition form. With the changes I've 
>> suggested above, you wouldn't even have to name the fields you don't 
>> care about - just describe them.
> 
> That would be okay.
> 
> I still don't see a strong justification for having a
> one-big-string form as well as a list/tuple/dict form,
> though.

Compaction of representation is all. It's used quite a bit in numarray, 
   which is where most of the 'kind' names came from as well.   When you 
don't want to name fields it is a really nice feature (but it doesn't 
nest well).

-Travis