[Python-Dev] proposal: add basic money type to the standard library (original) (raw)

Guido van Rossum guido@python.org
Tue, 26 Feb 2002 15:49:04 -0500

> > I propose adding an "abstract" money base type to the standard > > library, to be subclassed by real money/decimal implementations. > > Why do we need this? I guess that would be Question #1...

For databases ?! The DB API has long had a monetary or at least decimal type on its plate... never got around to implementing one, though :-)

I can only find one reference to money or decimal in the DB API PEP, and that's as a future task. I guess that's what you mean by "on its plate".

Since I'm not a database expert, maybe you can explain the use of this in more detail? And why would we need a monetary type rather than a fixed-point decimal type?

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)