On Mon, May 11, 2015 at 5:12 AM, boB Stepp <robertvst...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Common Python thought:: "We're all adults here." If you want to override >> a builtin within your own namespace, who are we to stop you? > > I'm surprised that this thought has not been added to the "Zen Of > Python", as I see it as more and more recurrent as I continue my > studies. What I would like to comprehend is what is the essential > mindset of Python? That is, what do I need to understand, so that I am > no longer likely to be surprised by discovering new possibilities in > Python such as what the current thread is discussing?
The Zen of Python is a static document, a historical artifact of a sort. But in terms of understanding the philosophy of Python, "we're all adults here" is a big part of it. Once you grok the notion that nothing can be prevented, you're freed from such considerations as: * Obfuscating, encrypting, or otherwise hiding your source code * Private members with restricted access * Strict type checking, to prevent someone passing in a wrong piece of data * Prevention of monkey-patching etc, etc, etc. In actual fact, anyone can bypass any restriction, in any language; and Python is just more open/honest about it than languages like C++; for instance, instead of having true private members where the compiler stops you from looking at or changing them, Python gives you single-underscore-named attributes, where nobody stops you from doing anything, but there's a general understanding that they're not governed by the usual compatibility rules, so upgrading a library might break your code. Happy with that? Go ahead then, use the internals. Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase. ChrisA -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
