[Python-Dev] Set the namespace free!
Hello, guys.
Python has more and more reserved words over time. It becomes quite annoying,
since you can not use variables and attributes of such names. Suppose I want to
make an XML parser that reads a document and returns an object with attributes
corresponding to XML element attributes:
> elem = parse_xml("")
> print elem.param
boo
What should I do then, when the attribute is a reserver word? I could use
trailing underscore, but this is quite ugly and introduces ambiguity.
> elem = parse_xml("")
> print elem.for_ #?
> elem = parse_xml("")
> print elem.for__ #?
My proposal: let's make a syntax change.
Let all reserved words be preceded with some symbol, i.e. "!" (exclamation
mark). This goes also for standard library global identifiers.
!for boo in foo:
!if boo is !None:
!print(hoo)
!else:
!return !sorted(woo)
This would allow the user to declare any identifier with any name:
for = with(return) + try
What do you think of it? It is a major change, but I think Python needs it.
--
haael
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Re: [Python-Dev] Set the namespace free!
So OK, thank you for response.
No, I wasn't joking. I'm sorry, I didn't know that you Python guys get offended
from being compared to PHP or Perl. Perhaps that shouldn't surprise me, though.
I have posted all of this here, because I was hoping this feature would be
implemented secretly, without anyone knowing. Life isn't that simple it seems,
I would have to go through all this PEP publication and stuff. Blame yourselves.
Reconsidering various ideas you have posted, I think the following solution
would be best:
All alphanumeric sequences preceded by a dot (".") should not be treated as
reserved words.
This would allow now reserved names as attributes without any change. Highest
level identifiers would need to be simply preceded by a dot.
> boo.if = 3
> boo.with = hoo.as
> .while = 1
> .for = .def
> fun(.class="a")
This doesn't require any major change, does not break anything and as a side
effect makes some very old code _valid_, at least syntactically.
I am going to repost this now on a valid list. Wish me luck, you opportunists.
--
Regards, haael
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