Does python support long longs?

[Cameron Laird]

In article <85qa3c$hk$1 at nntp9.atl.mindspring.net>,
Aahz Maruch <aahz at netcom.com> wrote:
>In article <x8_f4.26$tX3.648 at vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>,
>steve s chen  <sschen at ux8.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>>
>>1) Does Python support long long datatypes?  
>
>Not really.  But it does have its *own* long type, which can literally
>be as large as the memory of your machine will support (i.e. millions of
>digits).
>
>>2) Does Python support unsigned 32-bit ints?
>
>Nope.
>
>Note that to correct both of these deficiencies, you could in theory
>build your own Pythonic-C extension if this is "mission critical" for
>you.
Perhaps the questioner realizes this is only a
formal deficiency, something like goto-lessness.
It's possible that what he *really* wants is
arithmetic with certain capabilities, and, as
we know, Python's up to that, and more.
>
>>3) A less significant issue -- is there a utility that analyzes 
>>	 a segment of python code verifying the dynamic name-bindings?
>>	 NameError exceptions weren't being reported until run-time;
>>	 does that mean we must QA each control path to ensure 'correct'
>>	 execution?
>
>Yup.  The way to build large Python applications is to componentize and
>loosely-couple the hell out of everything.
A lot more than just Python, of course.

I've been working on ways to explain this one.
Conscientious developers (and especially managers)
coming from C++ (say) to languages as dynamic as
Python or even Smalltalk "freak out":  "You mean
it doesn't even have the sense to verify by 'link-
time' that all required functions are present?!?"
As they're already comfortable in the glass house
of languages with "pointers" that might be, and
frequently are, unassigned, there's little gain
in casting stones (to mix images rather flamboy-
antly).  What I'm after instead is a positive
discipline we can present which addresses these
objections.

<URL://http://www.sunworld.com/sunworldonline/swol-01-2000/swol-01-regex.html>
hints at such a presentation.  I need to make it
much more accessible to the scripting-averse,
though.
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-- 

Cameron Laird <claird at NeoSoft.com>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net
Personal:  http://starbase.neosoft.com/~claird/home.html