[Python-ideas] Should __builtins__ have some kind of pass-through print function, for debugging?

[Clint Hepner]

> On 2018 Apr 27 , at 9:05 a, Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> wrote:
> 
> Actually, I think I can think of a way to make this work, if we're 
> willing to resurrect some old syntax.
> 
> On Fri, Apr 27, 2018 at 09:27:34PM +1000, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>> I think that this is either a great idea or pointless, depending on what 
>> the built-in actually does.
>> 
>> If all it does is literally the debug print function you give:
>> 
>>> # "debug print": prints and then returns its argument
>>> def dp(obj):
>>>    print(repr(obj))
>>>    return obj
>> 
>> then it is just a trivial helper as you say, and in my opinion too 
>> trivial to bother making a builtin.
> 
> I changed my mind... let's add this as a builtin, under the name 
> debugprint. It is a completely normal, non-magical function, which takes 
> four (not one) arguments:
> 
> 
> def debugprint(obj, lineno=None, module=None, source=None):
>    [magic elided]
> 
> Now let's put all the magic into some syntax. I'm going to suggest 
> resurrecting the `` backtick syntax from Python 2. If that's not 
> visually distinct enough, we could double them: ``expression``.

I don't want to hijack the thread on a digression, but instead of bringing `` back for 
just this one purpose, it could be used as a prefix to define a candidate
pool of new keywords.

    ``debugprint(obj)  # instead of ``obj`` meaning debugprint(obj)

Any ``-prefixed word would either be a defined keyword or a syntax error.

--
Clint