[Python-ideas] Automatic total ordering

[Terry Reedy]

George Sakkis wrote:

>         I think we've done as much as I am comfortable with doing *by
>         default*
>         (i.e. when inheriting from object). The rest should be provided via
>         mix-ins. But even those mix-ins should wait until 3.1.
> 
> 
>     After posting and then thinking some more, I came to the same
>     conclusion, that anything more should be by explicit request.  
> 
> 
> Can you expand on how you reached this conclusion ?

Some related reasons/feelings:

3.0 perhaps completes a major revision of comparisons from default 
compare to default not compare and from __cmp__ based to 6 __xx__s 
based.  But I suspect the full ramifications of this are yet to be seen. 
  And there may or may not be refinements yet to me made.  (Greg's point 
also.)

I am not yet convinced that anything more automatic would be completely 
safe.

It seems like possibly one bit of magic too much.

If there are multiple sensible magics, better to let the programmer 
import and choose.

It is hard to take things away once built in.

tjr