Steve Holden wrote: > I'm always surprised by the amount of energy that's put into this type > of discussion - even the OP has suggested that this isn't a big issue. > If it's not a big issue why is this thread still going? Every language > has a syntax. Why not just accept it as a given and get on with more > productive activities?
It's because it's not an issue with an obviously (clear to everyone) good or bad answer. Obvious bad answer -> short discussion Obvious good answer -> short discussion which spawns many long discussion about the not so obviously details. * Nearly a toss up -> really long discussion that rehashes things over and over from various micro points of view. Even though it's pretty much known this won't change, people still want the clarity of an obvious answer even if an obvious solution doe not exist, so the thread continues. And of course what is obvious or not isn't obvious to everyone, so that too is a long discussion. ;-) But I think this thread has a second underlying attribute that appeals to the participants. It isn't so much an effort to change anything as it is an effort to explore and understand why things where made the way they are. To those who already know, this seems silly, but to those who are still learning, it seems important. This could be broken down a bit more, but then we would get into long debates on the best non-obvious ways to do that. ;-) Cheers, Ron -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list