[Python-Dev] PEP 275: Switching on Multiple Values, Rev 1.2 (original) (raw)

Aahz Maruch aahz@rahul.net
Fri, 23 Nov 2001 02:55:45 -0800 (PST)

[Yes, this should probably go to python-list, but after surgery I haven't been on c.l.py for more than a month.]

M.-A. Lemburg wrote:

Here is a new revision of the switch PEP. After this round and after Guido returns to python-dev, I intend to do one or two more rounds on python-list.

Here's a weird idea:

Given that the main problem we're trying to solve is the slowness of dictionary dispatching to functions, how about adding an "inline" keyword or function?

For example (assuming it's a function):

def handle_data():
    self.append(data)

dispatch_dict["foo"] = handle_data

class C:
    def read_input(self):
        data = "foo"
        value = handle_data
        inline(dispatch_dict[value])

Note carefully that handle_data() has no paramaters. This solution would be somewhat more expensive computationally than the switch construct, but it ought to be cheaper than doing an actual function call.

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