[Python-Dev] redefining is (original) (raw)

François Pinard pinard at iro.umontreal.ca
Sat Mar 20 08:32:22 EST 2004

[Tim Peters]

While "is" serves a useful purpose in Python, I wouldn't mind if it were harder to spell.

I think I would mind is is' was harder to spell. is' and is not' are perfect as they stand, for me at least, and I do not remember ever having problems with these. The notation is clear, short and sweet. I mainly use is' or is not' for my own built objects, and systematically for the None' object (but never for False' or True'). I know what is going on then. My feeling is that `is' only gets problematic when one tries to abuse it, so the problem might be more a question of attitude, than design. You cannot always force an attitude through design.

The user-aimed documentation often makes all the difference. When the documentation tells me from the start what I should know, and helps me at sorting good and bad attitudes, it saves me from trouble and grief.

-- François Pinard http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~pinard

More information about the Python-Dev mailing list