[Python-Dev] Policy on refactoring/clean up (original) (raw)

Jeroen Demeyer J.Demeyer at UGent.be
Tue Jun 26 05:00:48 EDT 2018

Hello,

On https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/7909 I encountered friction for a PR which I expected to be uncontroversial: it just moves some code without changing any functionality.

So basically my question is: is there some CPython policy against refactoring code to make it easier to read and write? (Note that I'm not talking about pure style issues here)

Background: cpython has a source file "call.c" (introduced in https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/12) but the corresponding declarations are split over several .h files. While working on PEP 580, I found this slightly confusing. I decided that it would make more sense to group all these declarations in a new file "call.h". That's what PR 7909 does. In my opinion, the resulting code is easier to read. It also defines a clear place for declarations of future functionality added to "call.c" (for example, if we add a public API for FASTCALL). Finally, I added/clarified a few comments.

I expected the PR to be either ignored or accepted. However, I received a negative reaction from Inada Naoki on it.

I don't mind closing the PR and keeping the status quo if there is a general agreement. However, I'm afraid that a future reviewer of PEP 580 might say "your includes are a mess" and he will be right.

Jeroen.

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