[Python-ideas] Bug? Feature? setattr(foo, '3', 4) works!

[Sturla Molden]

On 19/12/14 05:27, Cem Karan wrote:

> I'd like to suggest that getattr(), setattr(), and hasattr() all be modified so that syntactically invalid statements raise SyntaxErrors.


I'd like to object! This would break a lot of code that depends on HD5 
and NetCDF databases, e.g. PyTables.

Often we can do

    table.x

but sometimes we need to do

    getattr(table,'some long field name')

A lot of scientific software depends on this, and it would break at the 
moment your proposal is introduced. It would be a major disaster. It 
would even set back NASA's space program (no kidding!)


Sturla