[Python-ideas] Direct byte<->int conversions (was Re: bitwise operations on bytes)

[Alexandre Vassalotti]

On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 12:25 PM, Mark Dickinson<dickinsm at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM, Alexandre
> Vassalotti<alexandre at peadrop.com> wrote:
>> I believe the byteorder option shouldn't default to use the native
>> byte-order however. As you mentioned, it would be a bad choice to
>> encourage the default behaviour to be platform-dependent. And since
>> the primary purpose of the API is long serialization, it would be
>> short-sighted to choose the option that cannot be used for
>> serialization as the default.
>>
>> Whether it should default to 'little' or 'big' is pretty much an
>> arbitrary choice. In my patch, I choose to default big-endian since it
>> is the standard network byte-order. But maybe the option should
>> default to little-endian instead since it more widely used. In
>> addition, the patch is slightly more efficient with little-endian.
>
> Given all this, it sounds like byteorder should be a required argument.
> 'In the face of ambiguity... ' and all that.  As Nick pointed out, we
> can always add a default later when a larger set of use-cases has
> emerged.
>
> You say that the 'primary purpose of the API is long serialization'.
> I'd argue that that's not quite true.

And you are totally right. Honestly, the only reason I was thinking
about long serialization is because I have my hand full with pickle
guts presently. :-)

-- Alexandre