PEP scepticism

[Bernhard Reiter]

In article <mailman.993747643.21070.python-list at python.org>,
	Roman Suzi <rnd at onego.ru> writes:
> On 28 Jun 2001, Bernhard Reiter wrote:

>>This a general warning against the second system syndrom in Python.

As I wrote in my original post I do not want to actually discuss the
advantages or disadvantages of the examples given. 
This already has been done. Hopefully I can explain my concern on a
more general level.

> If you do not want to use them - please do so.

This is no argument.
I will have to read code of other people which will force me to use them.
(Now don't tell me: Don't do this.)



>>To me it looks like these contructs do not add capabilities to
>>python which were missing. They seems to be rare cases in which I
> 
> It depends on the programmer. 

It is my hope that python gives more clarity to everybody.
Right now python already does this compared to other programming
languages.

> But programmers are lazy 

Good variables and comments are essential for each program.
Nodoy should be to lazy to make a program more clear.


>>The new syntatic additions still
>>require that the programmer has a full understanding about what is going on.
>>On the other the sum of language constructs is growing and harder to
>>understand as a complete system.
> 
> Language constructs aren't the pile of features. There is good logic
> behind them, if you look with more attention.

I know.

>>Mainly as a python user I urge you to take this into consideration.
> 
> As a python programmer, I think that Python must live

I agree as a python programmer (which I meant by "python user" btw).
There are important additions (e.g. unicode) and the language
has to be maintained.

But as Dennis Ritchie said about the C99 standard commitee:
"I wish they had resisted more firmly."
	http://www.itworld.com/Comp/3380/lw-12-ritchie/

Bernhard

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