[Python-Dev] Re: PEP 285: Adding a bool type

[Ka-Ping Yee]

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> False and True are numbers [...]

That's exactly where this falls down.

Patrick O'Brien wrote:
> [...] True and False could be dictionary keys separate from 0 and 1.

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> No.  That would break backwards compatibility.  False==0, and True==1;
> everything else follows from that.  (But False is not 0, and True is
> not 1!)

This is a strange distinction to make -- one that is not made in any
other programming language i have ever encountered.  Of course *i* get
it and *you* get it -- but it will be so hard to teach this particular
weirdness that i consider it fatal to the proposal.


-- ?!ng