Why "flat is better than nested"?

[Ethan Furman]

kj wrote:
> In <mailman.232.1288020268.2218.python-list at python.org> Steve Holden <steve at holdenweb.com> writes:
> 
>>> 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?

Two points on the practical side:  most folk only remember a few levels 
deep, so shallow is easier to work with*; and, while premature 
optimization is usually a waste of time, effort, money, hair, etc., each 
level costs another lookup.

>> 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.

The Zen is good humor, and good advice.  An excellent reminder to strive 
for balance in all things...

~Ethan~

--
* citation needed, I know