Editable strings anyone?

[Tim Peters]

[Jason Orendorff, on the regexp engine code]
> ...
> About halfway down, you'll see a function getstring() which returns
> a pointer to the searchable data in an object.  This is where the
> requirement of a *contiguous* buffer is enforced.
>
>   if (... buffer->bf_getsegcount(string, NULL) != 1)
>           ... then raise an exception.

More, if you scour the core for calls to bf_getsegcount(), you'll discover
that nothing in the core knows what to do if it doesn't return 1:  "multi
segment buffers" are of no use in the std distribution.  I was told they
were added because "somebody insisted" they were needed.  In return for
being unused, at least they confuse people <wink>.

guido-is-much-keener-on-"you-ain't-gonna-need-it"-these-days-ly y'rs  - tim