(original) (raw)

On Sat Feb 21 2015 at 12:15:25 PM Antoine Pitrou <solipsis@pitrou.net> wrote:

On Fri, 20 Feb 2015 14:05:11 +0000
Brett Cannon <brett@python.org> wrote:
\> On Thu Feb 19 2015 at 5:52:07 PM Serhiy Storchaka <storchaka@gmail.com>
\> wrote:
\>
\> > Different patterns for TypeError messages are used in the stdlib:
\> >
\> > expected X, Y found
\> > expected X, found Y
\> > expected X, but Y found
\> > expected X instance, Y found
\> > X expected, not Y
\> > expect X, not Y
\> > need X, Y found
\> > X is required, not Y
\> > Z must be X, not Y
\> > Z should be X, not Y
\> >
\> > and more.
\> >
\> > What the pattern is most preferable?
\> >
\>
\> My preference is for "expected X, but found Y".

If we are busy nitpicking, why are we saying "found Y"? Nothing was
\*found\* by the callee, it just \*got\* an argument.

So it should be "expected X, but got Y".

Personally, I think the "but" is superfluous: the contradiction is
already implied, so "expected X, got Y" is terser and conveys the
meaning just as well.