variable declaration

[ajsiegel at optonline.net]

MT writes - 

>In summary, again with all due respect and gratitude for the
>spectacularly excellent product that Python is today, I wonder  *why*
>this strong aversion to declarative statements, and *whether* decorator
>syntax constitutes a violation of it. I'd appreciate any responses or
>links

First be warned that I fit fairly well the profile Robert paints in the previous 
post on this thread - my life and livelihood do not depend on being 
a Python programmer.  Though I would claim that my efforts to wrap 
my mind around it have enhanced both.

Personal growth kind of thing.

And I clutter this news group from time to time with 
observations which I admit are light on technical savy.

I *can* tell you that some very bright, respected and technical 
members of the community argued *for* decorators on 
the exact grounds that Python needed to break away from
its aversion to declarative statements.

Someone like myself without a full grasp of the 
technical terminology and little grasp of the underlying structures, 
cannot tell you whether decorators are or are not declarative. 
I can observe that folks tend to get to where they want
to get in these kinds of discussions by playing with the 
ambiguities in these kinds of words.

>From an outside observer point of view, I seem to notice 
that in the world of programming, there seems
to be more ambiguity in technical words than 
one would expect (or ideally like to see) in words 
that purport to be technical words.

In short, I suspect there is a lot of semantics to be played
with in answering your question.

My own sense is that decorators do break a dam in Python,
for better or for worse, and that it is OK to let folks provoke
you into concluding for yourself what words best describe
the specifics.  But don't let the old hands convince you
they represent business as usual.

Though the authorative tone of your post indicates, I
suspect, that this post was quite unnecessary.

Art