[Tutor] a shorter way to write this

[Sean Perry]

Smith, Jeff wrote:
> For all the talk of Python only having one way to do something which is
> why it's so much better than Perl, I've counted about 10 ways to do this
> :-)
> 

Knowing you said this at least half in jest, I still feel the need to 
comment.

In any programming language, you have flexibility in how to define an 
algorithm. Think about how many different ways you can ask "is this 
string a in that string b?".

The Python motto is actually better stated: there is one obvious way and 
it is often the right one.

In the Python 1.5 days, choices were much fewer. With the new versions 
have come a more rich selection of features.

Python's "only one way" is often brought up as a counterpoint to Perls 
TIMTOWTDI. Remembering which Perl idiom is the right one, for the right 
situation *AND* matches the rest of the project can be a real nightmare. 
Not to mention that choosing the wrong one often kills your performance 
(-: This is a big reason why I stick to Python. We may have choices, but 
they are often clear and obvious once you know the language.