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[Python-Dev] PEP for adding an sq_index slot so that any object, a or b, can be used in X[a:b] notation

Jim Jewett jimjjewett at gmail.com
Mon Feb 13 21:55:14 CET 2006 
Is there a reason __integer__ would be rejected?

Guido van Rossum answered:

> Given the number of folks who misappreciate the difference between
> __getattr__ and __getattribute__, I'm not sure I'd want to encourage
> using abbreviated and full forms of the same term in the same context.
> When confronted with the existence of __int__ and __integer__ I can
> see plenty of confusion ahead.

I see this case as slightly different.

getattr and getattribute are both things you might
reasonably want to do.  __int__ is something you
probably shouldn't be doing very often anymore;
it is being kept for backwards compatibility.

Switching getattr and getattribute will cause bugs,
which may be hard to diagnose, even for people
who might reasonably be using the hooks.  Switching
__int__ and (newname) won't matter, unless
__int__ was already doing something unexpected.
Since backwards compatibility means we can't
prevent __int__ from doing the unexpected, a
similar name might be *good* -- at least it would
tip people off that __int__ might not be what they
want.

I can't think of any way to associate getattr vs
getattribute with timing or precedence.  I already
associate int with a specific C datatype and integer
with something more abstract.  (I'm not sure the
new method is a better match for my integer
concept, and it probably isn't a better match
for java.lang.Integer, but ... the separation is there.)

-jJ
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