Zen of Python

[Dave Benjamin]

Paul Rubin wrote:
> Tim Peters <tim.peters at gmail.com> writes:
> 
>>But at that time, Python didn't have lexical scoping, and it wasn't
>>clear that it ever would.  So what's the bigger wart?  Making
>>listcomps exactly equivalent to an easily-explained Python for-loop
>>nest, or introducing a notion of lexical scope unique to listcomps,
>>hard to explain in terms of the way the rest of the language worked? 
> 
> Oops, I'd gotten confused and thought lexical scope came first and
> listcomps afterwards.  If lexical scope came afterwards, then
> implementing listcomps as a for-loop at that time makes more sense.
> 
> Of course in that case, since the absence of lexical scope was a wart
> in its own right, fixing it had to have been on the radar.  So turning
> the persistent listcomp loop var into a documented feature, instead of
> describing it in the docs as a wart that shouldn't be relied on,
> wasn't such a hot idea.  Adding lexical scope and listcomps at the
> same time might have also been a good way to solve the issue.

Can we get a show of hands for all of those who have written or are 
currently maintaining code that uses the leaky listcomp "feature"?

I guess I've been peripherally aware of it, but I almost always use 
names like "x" for my loop variables, and never refer to them 
afterwards. If Python were to change in this regard, I don't think it 
would break any Python code that I've ever written or maintained...

Dave