PEP 285: Adding a bool type

[David Mertz, Ph.D.]

Paul Rubin <phr-n2002a at nightsong.com> wrote previously:
|The point about pickle/marshal is especially good.  I can probably
|think of a other dozen other serialization and remote object Python
|modules that would also have to be updated.

Actually, as auther of one of those dozen serializiation modules
(xml_pickle), I would vote +1/2 for this very reason.

One of the goals (not really realized yet) of xml_pickle, and especially
of XML-RPC or SOAP, is to communicate data bundles/objects across
different programming langugages.  If you can serialize objects, it is
sort of obvious to want to restore them later (maybe even in
heterogeneous environments).  A number of the potential recipients of
communication with xml_pickle are languages with a Boolean/Truth data
type.  While the impedence mismatch is not all that difficult to handle
as-is, the PEP makes it a tiny bit easier.

Overall, however, my feeling on the PEP is very close to neutral.  I can
see occassional problems and confusions coming up; and occassional other
confusions being clarified.  Nothing huge in either direction.

Yours, David...


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