[Python-Dev] PEP 572: A backward step in readability (original) (raw)

Paddy McCarthy paddy3118 at gmail.com
Mon Apr 30 16:30:20 EDT 2018

On 30 April 2018 at 17:37, Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> wrote:

On Mon, Apr 30, 2018 at 08:09:35AM +0100, Paddy McCarthy wrote: [...] > A PEP that can detract from readability; readability, a central > tenet of Python, should > be rejected, (on principle!), when such objections are treated so dismissively.

Unless you have an objective measurement of readability, that objection is mere subjective personal preference, and not one that everyone agrees with.

True, as is the dismissal from the PEP. It is the PEP, looking to force change to the language, to prove its point rather than dismiss statements of its detractors.

The "not readable" objection has been made, extremely vehemently, against nearly all major syntax changes to Python:

I don't count myself as usually against change. I applaud the move to Python 3, I use all of the language features you mention at times; many in my Rosetta Code task examples; but this change opens the door to a class of bug that will take care to avoid and which I remember cutting my C coding to get away from.

The PEP fails to adequately address the concerns of "us naysayers"

For example; if someone were to find out that "assignment expressions were faster", then you would be hard pressed to stop their over-use. As soon as someone assigns to a name and uses that same name in the one expression, you need a better grasp of the order of expression evaluation to read it. hat is best avoided, in my subjective, personal, view.

-- Steve

With respect, but in disagreement - Paddy.

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