[Python-Dev] Python-3000 upgrade path (original) (raw)

Andrew McNamara andrewm at object-craft.com.au
Mon Mar 12 02:05:47 CET 2007

I wrote two versions of the dict views refactoring. One that turns d.keys() into list(d.keys()) and d.iterkeys() into iter(d.keys()). This one is pretty robust except if you have classes that emulate 2.x-style dicts. But it generates ugly code. So I have a "light-weight" version that leaves d.keys() alone, while turning d.iterkeys() into d.keys(). This generates prettier code but more buggy. I probably should have used the heavy-duty one instead.

The ugliness is a virtue in this case as it stands out enough to motivate developers to review each case. The pretty/efficient version is tantamount to guessing, and effectively discards information in the transformation ("here be dragons").

-- Andrew McNamara, Senior Developer, Object Craft http://www.object-craft.com.au/

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