[Python-ideas] Message passing syntax for objects

[Chris Angelico]

On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 3:46 PM, Mark Janssen <dreamingforward at gmail.com> wrote:
> I guess here's the idea I'm getting at.  As a programming language
> paradigm, OOP has to evolve -- it still has too much dependency on
> number-crunching and the mathematical operators still dominate.
>
> But a better abstraction to wrap the OOP paradigm around is
> *message-passing* rather than *arithmetic*.  And having in/out
> operators on objects is just *way cool*.

"Way cool", unfortunately, isn't enough for writing code. It has to be
useful, too. The Zen of Python reminds us that practicality beats
purity; turning everything into message passing may be awesome in
purity, but where does it stand on practicality? Are there real-world
problems that are awkward to solve in present-day Python that are made
massively cleaner/easier with this proposal?

I suppose what I'm asking for is a 1-2 sentence blurb to sell the
idea. What's the key advantage for daily work?

ChrisA