[Python-Dev] OT: style convention: self vs. _ in new Norvig's book (original) (raw)

Samuele Pedroni Samuele Pedroni" <pedroni@inf.ethz.ch
Mon, 21 Jan 2002 14:20:15 +0100

Hi. Thanks to http://www.pythonware.com/daily/

I landed in

http://norvig.com/python/python.html

Peter Norvig is about to supply Python versions of the algorithms with the 2nd edition of his AI: A Modern Approach.

So far, so good. In the section about coding convetions he says:

=A6In general, follow Guido's style conventions, =A6but I have some quirks that I prefer (although I could be talked out o= f them): ... =A6* _ instead of self as first argument to methods: def f(_, x): ...

I'm perfectly aware that the 'self' thing it is just a convetion, OTOH much of the cross-programmer readability of code relies on such convention.

It is good, bad or irrelevant to have such an authoritative book (although about AI not Python directly) adopting such a line-noisy convention?

Maybe nobody cares, but I preferred not to let this go unnoticed. Someone who cares could try to discuss the issue or make it apparent to Mr. Norvig.

Opinions?

regards, Samuele Pedroni.