[Python-Dev] [PEP 3148] futures - execute computations asynchronously (original) (raw)

Jesse Noller jnoller at gmail.com
Fri Mar 5 18:03:58 CET 2010

On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 11:56 AM, <skip at pobox.com> wrote:

 >>> import futures  >>  >> +1 on the idea, -1 on the name.  It's too similar to "from future import  >> ...".

 Jesse> Futures is a common term for this, and implemented named this in  Jesse> other languages. I don't think we should be adopting things that  Jesse> are common, and found elsewhere and then renaming them. Perhaps, but is it a common term for Python programmers (or the target population for Python)?  I've never heard of it.  "futures" to me are futures contracts in a trading environment (that's the industry I work in). No matter how well known the term is in the environment where it's used today you have to be sensitive to other meanings of the term.

It's a common programming term. I don't think we should make a new name - I mean, how many different names for green threads / coroutines or "flavors" of those concepts are out there because someone painted the bike shed a different color? I mean, there's prior art here:

http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/util/concurrent/Future.html

jesse

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