[Python-Dev] float atime/mtime/ctime - a bad idea? (original) (raw)

Guido van Rossum guido@python.org
Wed, 16 Oct 2002 10:28:52 -0400

Barry:

So then why not just make this an optional argument flag on the os.stat() call itself? That way you could migrate some code at a different rate than other code (a global flag might be fine for your application, but break some 3rd party library you're using).

And Kevin:

Please don't! The global setting isn't sufficient since many of us access many 3rd party modules.

Most code doesn't care; most 3rd party code will work either way. Martin proposed adding an option to the stat() call itself first, but that seems a rather heavy-handed way to ensure backwards compatibility for such a very rare situation.

If you are using a 3rd party library that breaks due to the floats, you can disable the floats until you've got time to fix it. You can live with the ints a little longer.

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