[Python-Dev] [poll] New name for __builtins__

[Terry Reedy]

"Guido van Rossum" <guido at python.org> wrote in message 
news:ca471dc20711290954v173cf2ebx9427de211ba9afbd at mail.gmail.com...
| But then I thought, what if we renamed the __builtin__ module instead
| to builtins, and left __builtins__ alone?
|
| In Python 0.1, __builtin__ *was* called builtin, and I think the
| reason for renaming it wasn't particularly well thought-out; as a
| *module*, I'm not sure that it really needs to have such a special
| name (I don't think it's more special than sys, anyway). There's no
| motivation in the checkin comment that renamed it (r3527).

+1 for plain 'builtins' or whatever for the name of the module.  I believe 
it would have been less confusing to me learning Python, (and still today 
;-) if it had been this way 10 years ago.

The rationale for special __xxx__ names (identifiers) is to avoid namespace 
clashes.  So they are only needed for namespace names bound to objects, 
including string objects representing definition names.  Since 
'__builtin__' is merely a string object bound to '__name__' (I presume) in 
the module itself and to '__builtins__' in all others, a string that did 
not imitate a reserved identifier would be clearer, at least to me.


Similarly, by the way, the main module might justifiably be '__name__'ed 
'main' rather than '__main__' since whatever string is bound to '__name__' 
is *not* in the module namespace.  "if __name__ == 'main' " is a bit easier 
to type and to me a bit clearer.  The only problem would be if someone put 
the incantation into a non-main module named 'main.py', but the same is 
true today of '__main__.py'.  And I would consider either a buggy practice.

These are the only two builtin strings I can think of that have the form of 
special names, even though they are not actually identifiers.  If so, they 
are the only two 'special names' that *must* be quoted as strings, while 
binding names (identifiers) usually are not.  If both were changed, then 
'special names' would simply be 'internal namespace names used by the 
implementation'.  I think this would make it easier for beginners to keep 
separate the notions of 'identifier' and 'string'.

Terry Jan Reedy