[Python-Dev] PEP 557: Data Classes (original) (raw)

Nick Coghlan ncoghlan at gmail.com
Thu Sep 14 20:55:49 EDT 2017

On 15 September 2017 at 02:56, Mike Miller <python-dev at mgmiller.net> wrote:

On 2017-09-12 19:09, Nick Coghlan wrote:

On 13 September 2017 at 02:01, Chris Barker - NOAA Federal <chris.barker at noaa.gov> wrote:

This really does match well with the record concept in databases, and most people are familiar with that. No, most people aren't familiar with that - they only become familiar with it after they've learned to program and learned what a database is. Pretty sure he was talking about programmers, and they are introduced to the concept early. Structs, objects with fields, random access files, databases, etc. Lay-folks are familiar with "keeping records" as you mention, but they are not the primary customer it seems.

Python is an incredibly common first programming language, so we need to keep folks with zero knowledge of programming jargon firmly in mind when designing new features. That isn't always the most important consideration, but it's always a consideration.

And, as Stefan notes in his reply, we also need to keep misleading inferences in mind when we consider repurposing existing jargon for a new use case - what seems like an obviously intuitive connection based on our own individual experiences with a term may turn out to be extremely counterintuitive for someone with a different experience of the same term.

In such cases, it can make sense to look for new semantically neutral terminology as the official glossary entry and API naming scheme, and rely on documentation to indicate that this is a realisation of a feature that goes by other names in other contexts.

Cheers, Nick.

-- Nick Coghlan | ncoghlan at gmail.com | Brisbane, Australia

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