Aahz wrote:
I haven't corresponded specifically with Fredrik about this, bit I get the impression he *chooses* to continue to produce 1.5.2-compatible products. I for one, having suffered at the hands of modules that *claim* 1.5.2 compatibility (and then screw you by using dict()!), appreciate the time he takes to do so.In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Fredrik Lundh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
func(*arg) instead of apply() is a step back -- it hides the fact that functions are objects, and it confuses the heck out of both C/C++ programmers and Python programmers that understand the "def func(*arg)" form, because it looks like something it isn't (there's a false symmetry between the call-form and the def-form).
For me, it works the other way around, but I can see how you perceive it that way.
and I still do enough 1.5.2-programming to use "x = x + y"; when I find myself in a situation where my code would benefit a lot from being able to write "x += y" instead, I go back and fix the design.
Okay, it wasn't clear in your original post that you're still stuck with 1.5.2. That makes a huge difference in the convenience of newer features.
A summary of how to maintain such compatibility might make Python apps more accessible - how many of us can say that our code would run on a Red Hat 7 system any more? The sad thing is that it's often fairly trivial changes that remove backwards-compatibility.
Well, I guess we have to accept that not every change to the language is going to be well-thought-out and completely desirable.
string methods are nice, but nothing groundbreaking, and their niceness is almost entirely offset by the horrid "".join(seq) construct that keeps popping up when people take the "the string module is deprecated" yada yada too seriously. and what do the python-devers do? they add a "sum" built-in, but no "join"? hello?
While I'm in complete agreement about the "".join() construct on the basis of looks, I have come to appreciate the fact that I *never* mess up the order of arguments any more.
Personally that's one of the changes I managed to take in my stride, and I've never really felt it was a biggie. Maybe my code is just so ugly that a little extra ugliness isn't noticeable?
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