[Python-Dev] Tweaking PEP 8 guidelines for use of leading underscores

[R. David Murray]

On Tue, 16 Jul 2013 17:46:34 -0400, Terry Reedy <tjreedy at udel.edu> wrote:
> On 7/16/2013 9:39 AM, R. David Murray wrote:
> > On Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:19:21 +1000, Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> wrote:
> 
> >> For example, pkgutil includes classes with single-underscore methods, which I take as private. It also has a function simplegeneric, which is undocumented and not listed in __all__. In in the absence of even a comment saying "Don't use this", I take it as an oversight, not policy that simplegeneric is private.
> >
> > I think you'd be wrong about that, though.  simplegeneric should really be
> > treated as private.  I'm speaking here not about the general principle of
> > the thing, but about my understanding of simplegeneric's specific history.
> 
> I think Steven (valid) point is "Why not, then, say it is internal 
> either in docs or name?"-- which in this case would be in the docs.

I don't think that's what he was saying; but yes, we should do that :)

--David