Why "flat is better than nested"?

[rustom]

On Oct 26, 12:11 am, kj <no.em... at please.post> wrote:
> In <mailman.232.1288020268.2218.python-l... at python.org> Steve Holden <st... at holdenweb.com> writes:
>
>
>
> >On 10/25/2010 10:47 AM, rantingrick wrote:
> >> On Oct 25, 5:07 am, kj <no.em... at please.post> wrote:
> >>> In "The Zen of Python", one of the "maxims" is "flat is better than
> >>> nested"?  Why?  Can anyone give me a concrete example that illustrates
> >>> this point?
>
> >> Simple. This commandment (endowed by the anointed one, GvR) is
> >> directed directly at lisp and those filthy lispers. If you don't know
> >> what lisp is then Google it. Then try to program with it for one hour.
> >> Very soon after your head will explode from the nested bracket plague
> >> and then you shall be enlightened!
>
> >And everyone taking the Zen too seriously should remember that it was
> >written by Tim Peters one night during the commercial breaks between
> >rounds of wrestling on television. So while it can give useful guidance,
> >it's nether prescriptive nor a bible ...
>
> Well, it's pretty *enshrined*, wouldn't you say?  After all, it is
> part of the standard distribution, has an easy-to-remember invocation,
> etc.  *Someone* must have taken it seriously enough to go through
> all this bother.  If it is as trivial as you suggest (and for all
> I know you're absolutely right), then let's knock it off its pedestal
> once and for all, and remove it from the standard distribution.
>
> ~kj

If you take zen seriously you dont get it
If you dont take zen seriously you dont get it
That -- seriously -- is zen