[Python-Dev] an oddball alternative name for enumerate() (original) (raw)

Greg Ewing greg@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz
Tue, 30 Apr 2002 16:10:23 +1200 (NZST)

Michael McLay <mclay@nist.gov>:

Unfortunately the PEP has rejected all varations of the term index:

All of the names involving 'index' clashed with usage in database languages where indexing implies a sorting operation rather than linear sequencing.

I think that comment is badly worded. Creating a database index may involve sorting at some point, but that's irrelevant. It's called "indexing" by analogy with indexing a book -- i.e. creating a data structure allowing fast access to a data item given a key. I think this usage of the term is much more widely understood than just in the database field, or even the whole computer field.

I searched the Python document, using Thomas Heller's nifty "Index for Python manuals".

Why do you think that document has the word "Index" in its title... :-)

Greg Ewing, Computer Science Dept, +--------------------------------------+ University of Canterbury, | A citizen of NewZealandCorp, a | Christchurch, New Zealand | wholly-owned subsidiary of USA Inc. | greg@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz +--------------------------------------+