[Python-checkins] CVS: python/dist/src/Lib string.py,1.46,1.47

[Tim Peters]

[Greg Ewing]
> Oh, no, nooo, nooooooo...
>
> Is there time to stop this madness?

Doubt it.  It was debated at length before Barry implemented it.  Write it
this way instead, and it reads beautifully & naturally:

tab = "\t"; space = " "; nospace = ""

tab.join(list_of_strings)
space.join(ditto)
nospace.join(user_sequence)

That is, you don't *have* to use a character literal (which indeed "looks
funny", although less and less so the longer the string).

> ...
> Whatever you do, don't stuff it onto some arbitrary
> type just for the sake of making it a method.

It's not arbitrary.  The essence of the current string.join is the string
used as glue; indeed, that's why join has been in the string module all
along.