Collective memory (was: Good code patterns in Python)

[Cameron Laird]

In article <mailman.1057083728.8224.python-list at python.org>,
Bob Gailer  <bgailer at alum.rpi.edu> wrote:
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>This brings back the good old days of FORTRAN IV which had a 
>single-statement IF and no ELSE. Thus:
>       C = VALUE1
>       IF ( A .EQ. B) C = VALUE2
>Notice the indentation. Cols 1-5 were reserved for line # and col 6 for the 
>continuation code. So Python is not the only indentation dependent 
>language. Nor is it the first to use indentation to convey structure.
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Maybe youngsters don't realize this.

One monotonous but unremitting argument that Python inspires
is about the wisdom of its white-space-significance (WSS).
Modern programmers might not realize how strongly old-timers
associate WSS with early FORTRAN and COBOL (as we capitalized
them then), and how unpleasant some of those memories are.
*That*, I assume, is why WSS discussions become as heated as
they do.
-- 

Cameron Laird <Cameron at Lairds.com>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net
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