wxPython and macros (was: Why don't people like lisp?

[Brian Kelley]

Kenny Tilton wrote:
> 
> 
> mike420 at ziplip.com wrote:
> <snip>
>>
>> Conclusion: you don't need macros here.
>> Moral: maybe you do not *deserve* macros.
> 
> 
> They are unworthy? :)
> 
> You know, I'll say it again, considering the audience (Pythonistas 
> debating amongst themselves whether to have macros) Lispniks should have 
> emphasized from the get-go that one of the things macros do is clean up 
> code visually (as demonstrated above). Some think I over-use macros, but 
> I think I do so precisely because, like Pythonistas, I place a premium 
> on visually clean code.

< snip>
> Now one very good point is that macros are a big change to make an 
> already clean-looking language cleaner. ie, The added value may not be 
> so great in Python as in other languages because another way 
> (indentation) was found to clean up code (and in my experience the 
> improvement is dramatic.
> 

After debating this topic, I have a slightly better understanding of how 
I would use macros if they existed in python.  My thinking is pretty 
much dealing with book-keeping and resource handling.

Specifially talking about wxPython, in some class constructors, any non 
handled exception (in, for example, wxFrame) can crash the application 
with no tracebacks.  Additionally, when subclassing some wxPython 
classes, the base class *must* be called first.  These issues could be 
solved with macros in a perhaps clean fashion.  Naturally, you don't 
*need* them, but they do reduce book-keeping and visual clutter in my 
opinion.

class wxFrame:
   def __init__(self, ...):
     with wxFrame_init(self, ...):
      special constructor code here


as opposed to

class wxFrame:
    def __init__(self, ...):
     wxFrame.__init__(self, arguments)
     try:
       special constructor code here
     except ...:
       # handle errors, perhaps writing to a log
       #  close down the application with an appropriate
       #  error message

Perhaps I have become converted :)  I also think that this could fit in 
nicely to the python environment.  Much more than I would have before. 
I wouldn't use macros to change the language, but to provide fail-safe 
handling for common tasks, sort of why I wanted to use python in the 
first place.

Brian