On Wednesday, 16 January 2013 at 15:55:09 UTC, renoX wrote:
On Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 13:43:12 UTC, Chris wrote:
On Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 12:36:42 UTC, bearophile wrote:
Chris:
Nested for loops with if-statements can be hard on the eye
in Python, because you have to go back an double check on
which level you actually are
If you use the standard 4 spaces indentations and you don't
have ten indentation levels this problem is not common. Some
persons also avoid your problem with an editor that shows
thin vertical lines every 4 spaces (but only where the lines
are actually reaching that length).
It happens very quickly if you have a class, a def, a nested
for loop with one or two if statements
class:
def:
for:
if:
You could call it "south west" code.
I'm not sure what is your point, even with 5 level of
indentations and the standard 4 space indentations, on a normal
80 colum window you still have 3/4 of the window for the code..
renoX
My point is that Python code is not necessarily more readable
only because it enforces indentation via syntax. If the code
between the different blocks (for, if, else etc) is long enough,
you easily lose track of where exactly you are when scrolling
down, just like in any other language (Yes, you need tools that
help you!). And one of the biggest drawbacks is that it is a
nuisance to cut and paste or comment out in Python because you
have to format your code _before_ you even know whether it works
as desired. If it doesn't, all the extra formatting work was in
vain. So much for "saving time". I do believe that abstract
ideals should not be given precedence over (coding) reality. If
Python is the ideal, why and how do other languages manage to
survive? How can people read code written in other languages at
all?
As has been said many times before, it should not be the
language's job to enforce indentation. This should be handled by
customizable code editors. Any programmer in his/her right mind
will use indentation. So why enforce it through syntax rules?
