[Python-Dev] any support for a methodcaller HOF? (original) (raw)

Terry Reedy tjreedy at udel.edu
Sun Feb 5 05:38:29 CET 2006

"Nick Coghlan" <ncoghlan at gmail.com> wrote in message news:43E4A10C.7020703 at gmail.com...

Hell no. If I want to write a real function, I already have perfectly good syntax for that in the form of a def statement. I want to increase the conceptual (and pedagogical) difference between deferred expressions and real functions, not reduce it.

Mathematically, a function is a function. Expressions and statements are two syntaxes for composing functions to create/define new functions. A few languages use just one or the other. Python intentionally uses both. But I think making an even bigger deal of surface syntax is exactly the wrong movement, especially pedagogically.

Terry Jan Reedy

More information about the Python-Dev mailing list