[Python-Dev] PEP 8 updates/clarifications (original) (raw)

Raymond Hettinger raymond.hettinger at verizon.net
Mon Dec 12 03:19:01 CET 2005

Do not use accessor methods, like obj.getFoo() and obj.setFoo(v), instead just expose a public attribute (obj.foo).

This advice is, of course, not appropriate for all users (properties are not typically in a Python beginner's skill set) or all use cases. It is closer to one person's view of the One-Right-Way(tm). Opinions on programming best practices vary widely, evolve over time, and may be context dependent.

> While, on some level, private variables seem attractive, I think that > experience (for everyone I know) has shown them to be an attractive > nuisance. I recommend discouraging them.

I really really hate double underscores

FWIW, I think we have no business dictating to others how they should name their variables. This is doubly true for a convention that has a long history and built-in language support.

My preference is to leave PEP 8 for the minimum practices necessary for one programmer to be able to read and maintain another programmer's code.

Raymond

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