. Python 2.1 function attributes

[Barry A. Warsaw]

>>>>> "RB" == Robin Becker <robin at jessikat.fsnet.co.uk> writes:

    >> Barry also added code to Python 2.1 to let you write, e.g., def
    >> f() >> x: x = 1 y = 2 as a short way to spell "whatever the
    >> value of x is at the end of the function, return that".  I'm
    >> sure you'll agree that's much cleaner than the clumsy def f():
    >> x = 1 y = 2 return x people suffer with today.
    | ....
    | mmmhhhh :( what happens with

    | def f() >> x:
    |         return 1


    RB> def f() >> x:
    |         y=2
    |         return y

    RB> seems to me that having multiple ways of doing return is a bad
    RB> idea

It was a joke.  Tim meant to write "def f() << x" because "the
function f `gets' the value of x".  The patch also places the return
value as a function attribute so you really write it like this:

def f() << x:
    x = 1
    y = 2

print f.x

That both calls f and returns the x attribute value.  Add in
__setattr__ semantics and arguments as list comprehensions, and you
get the power and clarity of:

>>> def f(x * [x-1 for x > 1]) << x: pass
...
>>> print f.x = 5
120

What could be more natural than that? <wink, wink, nudge, nudge>

to-be-checked-in-just-after-fred's-optional-braces-patch-ly y'rs,
-Barry