Russ P. wrote:
Oh, Lordy. I understand perfectly well how boolean tests, __len__, and
__nonzero__ work in Python. It's very basic stuff. You can quit
patronizing me (and Carl too, I'm sure).
The point that you seem to be missing, or refuse to acknowledge for
some reason, is that "if x" can be mistakenly applied to any object
when the programmer thinks that x is a list -- and the programmer will
receive no feedback on the error.
You know... or maybe you don't, since you did just say what you just
said... that is such a ridiculous point it only barely qualifies as
deserving comment. Rather than be really rude, I'll just say: test
it's type() if the function is that specific, or your code that brittle.
Python is not there to catch your logic mistakes, that's up to you.
I have made errors like that, and I could have saved some time had I
used an "empty" method that only applies to a list or other sequence.
Is that an important issue? I don't know. I'm not claiming it is. But
you cannot just sweep it away as nothing.
I don't sweep it away as nothing -- I sweep it away as stupid. The
programmer is responsible for his (or her) program. An analogy would be
a driver and a car -- if the driver cannot handle the power and speed of
a fancy car (python :), then the driver should get a different car
better matched to his abilities. It's not up to the car to say "oh, the
speed limit is 50 here, I better apply the brakes for the driver."
~Ethan~
--
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
