[Python-Dev] PEP 285: Adding a bool type (original) (raw)

Patrick K. O'Brien pobrien@orbtech.com
Wed, 3 Apr 2002 14:14:44 -0600

[Guido van Rossum]

My thoughts haven't changed at all. :-)

The first round of discussion (on python-dev) brought up some contentious issues where people disagreed strongly with particular details proposed in the PEP, and I put those contentious issues at the top of the review list. If you go to the latest version of the PEP on the web (http://www.python.org/peps/pep-0285.html) you'll see that I've added some other issues that were brought up in the more recent discussion.

I apologize for not having read the web version. I wasn't aware that it was being updated during the debate. I have a feeling I'm not alone in this mistake, so I'll take this opportunity to encourage others to read the web version also.

There's an educational issue that I'm just getting my head around. It appears that for various psychological and linguistic reasons, newbies naturally write

if b == True: ... when they first encounter a bool variable and have to test whether it's true. I believe that this is most of Laura's issue. The only reasonable solution for this is that the Zen master slaps them over the head with a stick, and they learn to write if b: ...

Yes. And I think describing Python's handling of truth values as "something vs. nothing" has real merit as a learning aid. It will certainly keep me from falling into the if b == True: trap.

In summary, I agree with your clarifications and I'm +1 on the PEP.

Patrick K. O'Brien Orbtech