On Nov 27, 8:21 pm, Steven D'Aprano <[EMAIL PROTECTED] cybersource.com.au> wrote: snip > body = 'L.append(None)\n' > make_file('dumb.py', 'Create a big list the dumb way.', > 'L = []\n', body*numitems) > make_file('smart.py', 'Create a big list the smart way.', > '', 'L = [None]*%d\n' % numitems) > > At this point, I have two source files which I can do anything I like > with. It would have been a real pain to have written the first one by > hand, even with a clever editor. I can post-process them, run them > through other tools, even open them up in an editor and manipulate them > by hand (although that defeats the purpose of metaprogramming). snip
I tempt that one's metaprogram is in a metalanguage, and if it's generating two programs, it has twice the power of the language it's in, giving it a leverage of two units. I feel like I always do that, manipulate the metaprogram output by hand. I forget my use cases though, except for one that did low-level structure handling. P.S. tempt: '5. Obsolete. to try or test.' http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tempt -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list