The use of None as the default parameter was on purpose; the lack of "magic" in python is often cited in religious wars between python and perl aficionados. Use of get(something, None) was on purpose, the level of familiarity with the language implied by the original question suggested that the notion of optional parameters, and specifically those of get, may not have been immediately obvious.
As for a[0,0] instead of a[(0,0)] ... the former just *looks* so
aesthetically wrong to me that I've never used it, and had forgotten
that it was even possible.
Sorry, I hadn't meant any of my comments as criticisms -- just wanted to make sure the OP knew about all the options open to them. I'm used to a[0,0] because I've used numarray a bit, but to each his own, of course. =)
Steve -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
