[Python-ideas] Operator for inserting an element into a list

[Michael Selik]

On Fri, Jun 15, 2018 at 10:25 AM Mikhail V <mikhailwas at gmail.com> wrote:

> very uncommon to see standalone statements like: x.method()
>

Python has many such mutation methods. It sounds like you're judging the
frequency of code patterns across all languages instead of just Python.
Even then, I don't think that's true. All OO languages that come to mind
have that pattern frequently.

As for x+=1 it is implementation detail - historical idea of such operators
> was
> mutating, so at least visually its not like a returning expression.
>

Incorrect. The += operator was meant as an alias for ``x = x + 1``. The
fact that it mutates a list is somewhat of a surprise. Some other languages
make no distinction between mutation and reassignment. Perhaps you're
thinking of one of those other languages.


> and I am not sure about x.method() form - was it meant to hint to the user
> about anything? It seemed to me so when I started to learn Python, but its
> not.
>

Yes, it returns None to emphasize that it's a mutation. This is different
from the so-called "fluent" design pattern where all mutation methods also
return the original object, causing confusion about whether the return
value is a copy or not.
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