[Python-ideas] Reviving PEP 3140 - "str(container) should call str(item), not repr(item)"

[Guido van Rossum]

Lots of reasons. E.g. would you really like this outcome?

>>> a = 'foo, bar'
>>> b = [a]
>>> print(b)
[foo, bar]
>>>

Plus of course there really would be tons of backwards compatibility issues.

On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:57 PM, Piotr Dobrogost
<p at google-groups-2013.dobrogost.net> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> Having str(container) calling str(item) and not repr(item) sounds like the
> right thing to do. However, PEP 3140 was rejected on the basis of the
> following statement of Guido:
>
> "Let me just save everyone a lot of time and say that I'm opposed to
> this change, and that I believe that it would cause way too much
> disturbance to be accepted this close to beta."
>
>
> Thu, 29 May 2008 12:32:04 -0700
> (http://www.mail-archive.com/python-3000@python.org/msg13686.html)
>
> Does anyone know what's the reason Guido was opposed to this change?
> Is there any chance to revive this PEP?
>
>
> Regards,
> Piotr Dobrogost
>
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-- 
--Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido)