Ben Finney wrote: > Steven Bethard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > >> Ben Finney wrote: >>> This PEP specifies an enumeration data type for Python. >>> An enumeration is an exclusive set of symbolic names bound to >>> arbitrary unique values. Values within an enumeration can be iterated >>> and compared, but the values have no inherent relationship to values >>> outside the enumeration. >> -1 on the proposal as-is. I don't have many use cases for >> enumerations, and I don't think they merit appearing in the builtins. >> If you put them in the collections module instead, I'd probably be +0. > > This seems to be a common distinction. > > Should I amend the PEP to propose "either in the builtins or in the > collections module"? Or should I propose two PEPs and let them > compete?
I would probably just amend the PEP. I have a feeling that python-dev is even less likely to accept it as a builtin than python-list is. >> For the few cases of enumerations that I've needed, I've never >> wanted them to be comparable with <, >, etc. If there were two >> classes, say ``collections.Enum`` and ``collections.OrderedEnum`` >> where only the latter made the enumerated items comparable, you >> might even get me as high as +0.5. (I only care about the >> non-comparable one, but I understand that others may have a need for >> the comparable one.) > > Replies to your post indicate this is another popular distinction. > > But the terminology is broken. The term "enumerated" seems to me to > imply that it does have an order. I didn't get that implication. From WordNet 2.0: """ enumerate v 1: specify individually; "She enumerated the many obstacles she had encountered"; "The doctor recited the list of possible side effects of the drug" [syn: recite, itemize, itemise] 2: determine the number or amount of; "Can you count the books on your shelf?"; "Count your change" [syn: count, number, numerate] """ I don't get an ordering out of either of the definitions above. But certainly there are a few precedents (e.g. Java's Enumeration interface)... > Can you suggest a term other than > "enumerated" for what you're describing with the unordered property? I don't have any good names if people think that enumeration implies ordering. Off of thesaurus.reference.com: * numbering * inventory * lexicon * catalogue Those were the best I saw, and they're pretty bad. I guess you could go with ``symbols`` maybe... STeVe -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
