[Python-3000] PEP 3124 - Overloading, Generic Functions, Interfaces, etc. (original) (raw)

Phillip J. Eby pje at telecommunity.com
Thu May 3 03:32:23 CEST 2007

At 12:38 PM 5/3/2007 +1200, Greg Ewing wrote:

In other words, I see the calling of the next method as an implementation detail that doesn't need to be announced prominently at the top of the method.

It's not an implementation detail - it's an expression of intent. E.g., in English, "After you start a transaction on a database, make sure you turn its logging up all the way."

Please explain how you would improve one the clarity of that sentence without using the word "after" or any synonyms thereof.

ISTM that your argument is like saying there's no need for C with all its fancy function parameter names; after all, if you read the assembly code you can see right away which registers are being used for what. That may be true, but I'd rather not have to.

Meanwhile, in the case of before/after methods, not having to call the next method or return its return value means there's less code to possibly get wrong in the process.

So you're not going to impress me by appealing to those, either. :-)

I wasn't under the illusion that impressing you was possible, actually. :)

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