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[Python-Dev] PEP 215 redux: toward a simplified consensus?

Barry A. Warsaw barry@zope.com
Mon, 25 Feb 2002 18:19:24 -0500 
>>>>> "SM" == Skip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com> writes:

    SM> So translators aren't programmers either.

Well, they may not be /Python/ programmers. ;)
    
    SM> Just tell them anything between %(...) and the first
    SM> alphabetic character after that is off-limits.  Again, it
    SM> doesn't look to me like a programmer problem.

    SM> Just to play the devil's advocate (and ignoring the bit about
    SM> $-strings not being i18n-friendly), I suspect non-programming
    SM> translators would have just as much trouble with something
    SM> like

    SM>     $"Please confirm your choice of color ($color)..."

    SM> "$color" will look like a word to be translated.  You would
    SM> have to tell them "don't translate anything immediately
    SM> following a dollar sign up to, but not inluding the next
    SM> character that can't be part of a Python identifier."  Seems
    SM> either a bit error-prone or confusing to me if I pretend I'm
    SM> not a programmer.

To be clear, I think the ideal interface would be a graphical one,
with drag-n-drop icons for the textual placeholders.  This would allow
them to re-arrange the order of the placeholder, and it would be
obvious what is variable in your templates, but it wouldn't allow them
to change, remove, or add placeholders.

Then it wouldn't matter what syntax you actually used.

I'm holding my breath... ready... go! <wink>
-Barry