Booleans, integer division, backwards compatibility; where is Python going?

John Machin sjmachin at lexicon.net
Fri Apr 5 20:01:49 EST 2002


Tim Peters <tim.one at comcast.net> wrote in message news:<mailman.1018031177.21308.python-list at python.org>...
> [phil hunt, on language change]
> > ...
> > But is this changing going to be continual? Are the language
> > developers constantly going to tinker with the language, out of a
> >
> > Is there a final destination in sight, which these changes are
> > leading to?
> 
> It's possible it's the same final destination that C, Fortran, Perl and Java
> (for examples) are approaching with their own never-ending changes, but, if
> so, I doubt we'll live long enough to celebrate arrival.  If you want a
> change-free language, you're best off looking for a dead or dying language.

Indeed. However with all due (i.e. heaps) respect to the eminent 
personages involved: consolidation, defence & supply of the territory
gained has to be given a reasonably priority compared with that
assigned to attacking the next target -- in particular, some of us may
have preferred (a) docs on new-style classes (b) continuation of what
__slots__ seems to promise to have a higher priority than adding a
bool type :-)

> For example, Algol 60 hasn't changed in decades.

Another example: Sather -- a very good language (in its category) but
now
maintained (in some sense of the word) by a lone prophet crying in the
wilderness -- compare c.l.py and c.l.sather

> For that matter, Python
> 1.5.2 hasn't changed in years.  WRT any technology, you can jump off the
> train any time you like.  Unless you pick your exit point very carefully,
> though, you may end up alone in the middle of nowhere.
> 
> or-in-a-small-town-with-a-crate-full-of-8-track-tapes-ly y'rs  - tim

My crates are in the museum but AFAIR the mag tapes were 7-track or
9-track and the paper ones were 5-track [or was there a (6th) parity
track?]; what's this 8-track story?

Follow-ups-to-alt.fan.Friden.flexowriter-ly y'rs
John



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