[Tutor] am I missing another simpler structure?

[Blake Winton]

Juan Shen wrote:
>>> def is_leap_year(year):
>>>     is_leap = True
>>>     try:
>>>         datetime.date(year, 2, 29)
>>>     except ValueError:
>>>         is_leap = False
>>>     return is_leap
>>
>> I would write
>> def is_leap_year(year):
>>     try:
>>         datetime.date(year, 2, 29)
>>         return True
>>     except ValueError:
>>         return False
>>
> Yeah, I support Kent.  Brian's code is obviously C style,  define a 
> variable and give it an origin value, then use it, modify its value and 
> so on.  If you choose Python, you should adapt to it that variable 
> needn't to be defined specificly before being used!

I far prefer the Brian's version, because it lets me set a single 
breakpoint while I'm debugging, and I can look at the return value 
before returning it, instead of having to set n breakpoints (or, usually 
n-1 because I've overlooked the one that's actually being executed) and 
looking at what's being returned on each line.  (Yes, I do the same 
thing in C and C++, but I originally started using it in Java, and after 
a few debugging sessions it makes a lot of sense.)  Only having one 
return point from a function is a long-standing convention that is 
supposed to make programs easier to read/debug/optimize/prove correct.

Later,
Blake.