[Python-ideas] add a list.swap() method

[Nick Coghlan]

Raymond Hettinger wrote:
> 
> [Kristján Valur Jónsson]
>> In particular, append(), pop() and insert() modify the list length,
>> which might confuse some subclasses.
> 
> These are all part of the most basic functions of list.  A subclasser
> should know that.
> They are different from swap() which is an optimization hack that breaks
> encapsulation
> and is not a basic function of lists.  The docs are fine as-is.
> 
> Adding esoterica to the docs tends to make the docs harder to digest
> and less useful to people trying to learn the language.

I was thinking more in terms of the C API docs rather than the normal
list docs.

While Python subclasses can run into bugs due to this they're unlikely
to crash the interpreter by doing so. C subclasses on the other hand may
have bigger problems.

Cheers,
Nick.


-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia
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