On Oct 25, 4:18 pm, Ethan Furman <et...@stoneleaf.us> wrote: > kj wrote: > > In <mailman.232.1288020268.2218.python-l...@python.org> Steve Holden > > <st...@holdenweb.com> writes: > > >>> On Oct 25, 5:07 am, kj <no.em...@please.post> wrote: > >>>> In "The Zen of Python", one of the "maxims" is "flat is better than > >>>> nested"? Why? Can anyone give me a concrete example that illustrates > >>>> this point? > > Two points on the practical side: most folk only remember a few levels > deep, so shallow is easier to work with*; and, while premature > optimization is usually a waste of time, effort, money, hair, etc., each > level costs another lookup. > > >> And everyone taking the Zen too seriously should remember that it was > >> written by Tim Peters one night during the commercial breaks between > >> rounds of wrestling on television. So while it can give useful guidance, > >> it's nether prescriptive nor a bible ... > > > Well, it's pretty *enshrined*, wouldn't you say? After all, it is > > part of the standard distribution, has an easy-to-remember invocation, > > etc. *Someone* must have taken it seriously enough to go through > > all this bother. If it is as trivial as you suggest (and for all > > I know you're absolutely right), then let's knock it off its pedestal > > once and for all, and remove it from the standard distribution. > > The Zen is good humor, and good advice. An excellent reminder to strive > for balance in all things... > > ~Ethan~ > > -- > * citation needed, I know
I think the ZoP is just another case of HHOS: http://sunsite.ualberta.ca/jargon/html/H/ha-ha-only-serious.html -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list