[Python-Dev] strop vs. string (original) (raw)

Mark Hammond MarkH@ActiveState.com
Sun, 27 May 2001 12:39:43 +1000

[Tim]

The buffer object has been neglected for years: is that because it's in prime shape, or because nobody cares about it enough to maintain it?

My take is a little different. I think people could be convinced to care about it, and indeed I do. However, it has one fatal flaw, and no one seems to know what to do about it.

The problem is the one best demonstrated with the array module - if you get a pointer to the buffer interface for an array object, but the array then resizes itself, the buffer pointer dangles.

There have been a few attempts over time to raise the buffer profile, but this design flaw leaves people scratching their head - it is hard to press for adoption of a feature that has a known crash hiding away.

However, addressing this problem is difficult. Guido appears unconvinced that buffer objects and interfaces are that worthwhile. It appears no one else knows how to proceed in the face of this ambivalence - that describes my take even if no one elses.

The-buffer-is-dead,-long-live-the-buffer ly,

Mark.