[Python-ideas] Simpler syntax for basic iterations

[Guido van Rossum]

Argh!

Here's why I don't like adding special syntax to do something N times. I
didn't leave this out by accident 25 years ago. Python takes a stance
against a common approach to beginners' programming education focused on
counting and indexing arrays of data, rooted in machine language and
FORTRAN.

Standard problems and examples like "print 'hello world' 10 times" or "draw
an N-sided polygon" are designed to teach students those counting and
indexing skills. It's backwards to request that the language support
counting better so those examples will look simpler.

Python has so much richer data structures. Create problems to teach those!

-- 
--Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido)
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