[Python-Dev] Right curry considered harmful (original) (raw)

Alex Naanou alex.nanou at gmail.com
Tue Aug 31 22:59:10 CEST 2004

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 21:24:29 +0100, Peter Harris <scav at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

I think we'll see if partial() is a useful enough feature to be worth optimising once it actually makes it into a build and gets used.

I for one use the beast quite allot! :)

Mostly I think nesting many layers of partial(), or optimising the implementation with that in mind will not be a win for clarity, therefore a net loss however fast you can make it.

well, about clarity, the implementation I posted above is actual code form the library I am writing (pli.sf.net), I could write a clearer and prettier version with the same functionality if desired... ...why intentionally make an under-designed version when adding some minor optimisations would not impact either clarity nor efficiency (IMHO).

By the way, I think 'right curry' is just a broken idea from the point of view of code readability. (I know the n'th argument is '2', but 'n' will depend on how many arguments are passed at run time!) The PEP doesn't propose to implement such a monster, or call partial() a curry at all, let alone a 'left' one.

in part I do agree, but I had to implement both as going the other way would have been a big (and I do mean BIG) loss in both clarity an flexibility.

Alex.

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