[Python-Dev] [PEP 3148] futures - execute computations asynchronously

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Guido van Rossum writes:

 > "Future" is a pretty standard CS term for this concept (as noted
 > "promise" is another),

I like the term "promise" better.  "Future" is very generic ("not now,
but later"), whereas a "promise" is something I don't get from you
now, but you will give me later.

The wikipedia article is not very helpful on the implicit vs. explicit
distinction.  As far as I can tell from it, that distinction isn't
really attached to "future" vs "promise."  The only distinction the
article described was in the context of the Alice language, where a
future = promise (read-only) plus resolver (mutator).  IMO that's not
a compelling reason for adopting "future" in Python.