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Python Rocks!

Ivan Van Laningham ivanlan at callware.com
Wed Jan 19 15:20:54 EST 2000 
Hi All--

tye4 wrote:
> 

[snip]

> 
> Perfect example.
>    if (a > 3)
>      if (b == 4)
>         c = 2;
>     else
>      c = 3;
> 
> If you add a space, the 'else' will belong to the inner 'if'. If you delete
> one, the 'else' will belong to the outer one. Highly error prone.
> 

Don't code that way to start with.  It's dumb.  Treat yourself to a good
editor.

[snip]

> Don't get me wrong. Indentation tremendously improves readability. However,
> it should not be part of the language. That way, we don't have to put an
> immense amount of effort just trying get everything into the right block.
> There is not single programming language that forces such a bizarre
> indentation rule.
> If thousands of programmers have a problem with this, why isn't it fixed.
> The solution is backward compatible:
> if x = 5:
>     print 'x is 5'
> end if
> 

You got about as much chance of getting this into Python as you do of
getting hit by a meteor.  Less, actually, because the odds for the
latter are measurable.  What you're asking for is for Python to not be
Python.  You don't like it, design your own language, build the
interpreter or compiler, and publish it.  Maybe you can get some people
to use it.  One of them won't be me.

You're saying to people who know and love Python, "Python is a great
language except that it's Python.  Let's fix it."  We don't think it's
broken.  Your insistence on swimming upstream on this issue is not only
wrong-headed but boring.

<if-we-had-some-spam-we-could-have-spam-and-eggs-if-we-had-some-eggs>-ly
y'rs,
Ivan
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Ivan Van Laningham
Callware Technologies, Inc.
ivanlan at callware.com
ivanlan at home.com
http://www.pauahtun.org
See also: 
http://www.foretec.com/python/workshops/1998-11/proceedings.html
Army Signal Corps:  Cu Chi, Class of '70
Author:  Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours
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