[Python-ideas] oneof() and multi split and replace for stirngs

[Calvin Spealman]

On 1/23/07, Josiah Carlson <jcarlson at uci.edu> wrote:
> Whether it is a tuple being passed, or a "magic" container, I don't
> think it matters; though I would lean towards a tuple because it is 5
> less characters to type out, and one fewer data types to worry about.

I had talked to others and the concensus was against the tuples for
ugliness. s.split((a,b), c) wasn't a popular choice, but
s.split(oneof(a, b), c) reads better.

> This has been discussed before in python-dev, I believe the general
> consensus was that it would be convenient at times, but I also believe
> the general consensus was "use re";

It seems like we have a history of useful string operations being
moved away from "use re" to "dont use re", such that the slightly
recent startswith and endswith methods, and even split and replace
themselves. I would like to see less reasons for people to worry with
regular expressions until they actually need them. If we can provide a
better way to get the job done, that seems like a great idea.

ALSO

The oneof type isn't just a single use thing. Usecode may often make
use of it, and other types could benefit such as doing a lookup with
d[oneof(1,2,3)] (where order would matter for priority). I think this
semantic collection type would be very useful in a number of contexts
where we would currently just loop or duplicate code.

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