"Warren DeLano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Why was it necessary to make "as" a reserved keyword?
I can't answer for the Python developers as to why they *did* make it a reserved word. But I can offer what I believe is a good reason why it *should* be a reserved word: Because simple is better than complex, and special cases aren't special enough to break the rules. > And more to the point, why was it necessary to prevent developers > from being able to refer to attributes named "as"? There aren't special rules for which names can be use in which way, and that's a *good* thing. Any name that is valid in one area of Python syntax is valid in all Python syntax. > Why can't the parser distinguish between a standalone " as " keyword > and ".as" used as an object/attribute reference? Because that would require special-casing some names as being forbidden in syntax where other names are allowed. Special cases in language syntax are to be avoided where feasible. -- \ “Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?” “I think so, | `\ Brain, but this time *you* put the trousers on the chimp.” | _o__) —_Pinky and The Brain_ | Ben Finney -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
