Thanks to all for quick relies.
Chris, you are (almost) spot on with the if blocks indentation. This is what I
do, and it has served me well for 15 years.
code
code
if (some condition)
{
code
code
}
code
code
This is what I call code clarity. With Python, I am having to do this
code
code
##############################
if (some condition):
code
code
##############################
code
code
It does the job, but is not ideal.
I am nervous about using variables "out of the blue", without having to declare
them. For example, when I write "i = 0" it is perfectly OK to Python without
'i' being declared earlier. How do I know that I haven't used this variable
earlier and I am unintentionally overwriting the value? I find I constantly
have to use the search facility in the editor, which is not fun.
You see, Javascript, for one, behaves the same way as Python (no variable
declaration) but JS has curly braces and you know the variable you have just
used is limited in scope to the code within the { }. With Python, you have to
search the whole file.
Thanks to Chris, Ian and Dave for explaining the () issue around if and for
statement. I don't agree with this, but I understand your points. The reason
why I like parentheses is because they help with code clarity. I am obsessed
with this. :-) After all, there is a reason why so many languages have required
them for several decades.
What about Python's ambiguity?
For example, in C you would write
if (myVar != 0)
do something
in Python, this is legal
if (not myVar):
do something
What does this mean? Is it a test for myVar being equal to zero or a test for
null, or else?
I want to learn a new language but Python's quirks are a bit of a shock to me
at this point. I have been Pythoning only for about a week.
In the mean time, thanks to most of you for encouraging me to give Python a
chance. I will do my best to like it, w/o prejudice.
Peter
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