New Python 3.0 string formatting - really necessary?

[Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch]

On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:44:25 -0800, r wrote:

> ~Bearophile,
> Thanks for your civil approach to this conversation but I must disagree
> with you on the new string formatting syntax. You said the new syntax is
> suppost to be easier on the n00b , I say it pollutes a students mind.
> What is wrong with similarities to C formatting,  I find nothing
> complicated about it.
> 
> %s (means put a string here)
> %d (means put a integer here)
> %f (means put a float here)
>
> It does not get any simpler than that,

Well for those simple cases you could simply use '%s' for strings, 
integers, and floating point objects in Python.  But '{0}' isn't more 
complicated.  But you get the extra flexibility to decouple the order in 
the string and the order of the objects to be formatted.

> and this will just ease the transition to C programming for this
> student. Lets not forget how important C is!

To a Python "n00b"?  Not important at all.  Beside the point that '%s' is 
still possible -- someone who knows C but struggles with replacing '%s' 
by '{0}' has far greater problems.

Ciao,
	Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch