literals optimization (was Re: append on lists)

[Grant Edwards]

On 2008-09-16, Maric Michaud <maric at aristote.info> wrote:
> Le Tuesday 16 September 2008 18:26:38 Grant Edwards, vous avez écrit :
>> I was asking where in the specification
>> <http://docs.python.org/ref/ref.html> it says that all expressions that
>> return something, return a
>> new object.  
>
> I never said this,

Here's what you wrote:

>>>> all expressions that return something, return a new object.
>>
>>> That's not _quite_ true:
>>> >>> a=1
>>> >>> b=a.__add__(0)
>>> >>> a is b
>>>
>>> True
>>
>>This is implementation specific, the specification of the
>>language says that it should be false,

You made a statement, I pointed out a degenerate case where
that statement was violated.  You replied that that my
counter-example violated the language specification.  I read
that as a claim that your original statement was part of the
language specification.

If that's not what you meant, I aplogize.  I'll should have
been more specific and asked "in the counter example above,
where in the laguage specification does it shat that 'a is b'
is supopsed to be false?"

> I said it's the spirit of python APIs, with some noticeable 
> exceptions (see my first post). But for this case
> specifically, a + b *should* return a new object, see the 
> documentation of __add__ and __iadd__ special methods, it's
> clearly stated.

I'll take a look...

> The fact that an integer with value "1" is always the same
> integer in some implementation is unrelated to the original
> problem.

Not if it results in a violation of something in the language
specification.

-- 
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