all possible combinations

[Steve Holden]

Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 12:30:23 +0100, Steve Holden wrote:
> 
> 
>>>This makes me wonder why we still don't have something like the unint
>>>function above in the standard distribution.
>>>
>>
>>Because it's not what you'd call (or, at least, it's not what I'd call) 
>>universally required. As you have shown it is relatively easy to hack 
>>something supp when it's needed, so since it isn't something that's 
>>required by the majority it hasn't been added to the library.
> 
> 
> Have you looked at what's in the standard Python library?
> 
> aifc.py => Stuff to parse AIFF-C and AIFF files.
> imghdr.py => Recognize image file formats based on their first few bytes.
> gopher.py => Gopher protocol client interface.
> token.py => Token constants (from "token.h").
> 
> I'm sure they are useful to somebody, but do you really think that the
> majority of Python users need to parse AIFF files?
> 
> Converting base-19 strings into integers is a rather niche need, but if
> somebody bothered to write, document and provide unittests for such a
> module, I'm sure it could be added to the standard library. It isn't as if
> there is any policy of prohibiting specialist modules just because they
> don't have universal need.
> 
> And no, I'm not volunteering. I may, if I get an itch, but at this moment
> in my life I'm not that fussed one way or another.
> 
> 
> 
Well, here I have to fall back on history. I only started using Python 
in the mid-to-late 1990's. In those days modules were added to the 
language because they existed, and it was an easy way to distribute them.

Now Python has a significant user base the development of the language, 
and the structure of the libraries, comes under more scrutiny, and there 
is a general feeling that parsimony is to be preferred to bloat.

I can hardly disagree with you that aifc.py represents bloat by today's 
standards, and I don't think I could name a single gopher user (though 
that was certainly NOT the case in the mid-1990s).

and-i-still-can't-find-an-email-tool-with-dwim-ly y'rs  - steve
-- 
Steve Holden       +44 150 684 7255  +1 800 494 3119
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