[Python-ideas] [Python-Dev] Set the namespace free!

[Eric Smith]

On 7/23/10 11:22 PM, Carl M. Johnson wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 3:31 PM, Gregory P. Smith<greg at krypto.org>  wrote:
>
>> What next?  An optional way to support case insensitive names using a
>> unicode character prefix?
>
> This suggests an innovative solution. Using the advanced phishing
> techniques of today’s bleeding edge Mafioso hackers, we can use
> unicode lookalikes to stand in for keywords. So, for example, the
> motivating use case is the desire to write elem.for. Well, all we need
> to do is use the Greek omicron and write elem.fοr. See the difference?
> No? Exactly!
>
> This is a good first step as a workaround in older versions of Python,
> but I think we can do better than this in future version. Since it is
> so clearly useful and convenient with a wide variety of use cases to
> be able to use current keywords as variable names, I propose that we
> phase out the current set of keywords and replace them with
> vowel-shifted lookalikes: Cyrillic а for a, Cyrillic у for y, omicron
> for o, upside-down exclamation point for i, and the EU’s estimated
> sign ℮ for e. So, the current keywords:
>
> and                 elif                import              return
> as                  else                in                  try
> assert              except              is                  while
> break               finally             lambda              with
> class               for                 not                 yield
> continue            from                or
> def                 global              pass
> del                 if                  raise
>
> would be replaced with these new keywords:
>
> аnd                 ℮l¡f                ¡mpοrt              r℮turn
> аs                  ℮ls℮                ¡n                  trу
> аss℮rt              ℮xc℮pt              ¡s                  wh¡l℮
> br℮аk               f¡nаllу             lаmbdа              w¡th
> clаss               fοr                 nοt                 у¡℮ld
> cοnt¡nu℮            frοm                οr
> d℮f                 glοbаl              pаss
> d℮l                 ¡f                  rа¡s℮
>
> Since this change is visually undetectable, I don’t see why we can’t
> just make it mandatory in 3.2 instead of going through the usual
> multi-release deprecation cycle. (I will admit that the transition
> might be quicker if someone could modify 2to3 and make 3_1to3_2 to
> help people convert their legacy scripts.)
>
> Can we get fast-track BDFL approval on this one? Seems like a slam dunk to me.
>
> Internationally yrs,
>
> -- СJ

CJ for the win! Bravo.

-- 
Eric.