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Wed Apr 18 09:34:58 EDT 2001 · http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2001-April/063424.html

Alex Martelli wrote:
> 
> ...
> 
> Possibly.  On the other hand, I seem to be slightly more refined
> than you at Usenet flamewars, judging for example from the styles
> used to insult -- rude, direct name-calling on one side, subtler
> indirect venom on the other.

I'll leave the meta-flamewar debate to you two. But try to remember that
this is comp.lang.python. The joy of the flame probably does not yield
long-term rewards for either participant nor for the audience.

> ... It appears to me that the crucial design-goal that
> Python and Dylan did not share was *SIMPLICITY*.  Exactly what
> such additions as a macro-system would destroy in Python.  

I find it hard to believe that the mere existence of the system would
destroy Python's simplicity. My impression, after years of use, is that
Python's simplicity is skin deep and that's a good thing. In other
words: Python makes all easy stuff easy AND syntactically simple (unlike
some other languages which claim to make easy stuff easy) but there are
depths of complexity in the semantics that few ever plumb.

It seems, on the other hand, like syntax is something of a sacred cow. I
really don't see how the mere ability for some yahoo to mess up his
program with some stupid syntax extension impacts the rest of us at all.
Neel K made an important point in passing: that same yahoo can mess us
up by writing totally unmaintainable, unreasonable functions. I don't
see the big difference.

And if some smart people can use hygenic macros to make Python code that
is more maintainable or readable, why should they be disallowed? Python
doesn't take away the rope -- it tends to hide it so that only people
who know what they are doing will find it. A perfect example is
func.func_code. Imagine the havoc idiots could wreak if it was widely
known that the func_code attribute is writable and func_code objects can
be constructed at runtime from raw binary data.

-- 
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Python Cookbook!  http://www.ActiveState.com/pythoncookbook

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