On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:34:12 AM UTC+5:30, Chris Angelico wrote: > On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:43 PM, Rustom Mody wrote: > > The key thing to make this work is that the tab needs to be a reasonably > > solid > > non-leaky abstraction for denoting an indent. > > As soon as you allow both tabs and spaces all the interminable bikeshedding > > starts > > > > Whatever you change, there will be stuff for people to argue about. > Trust me, that's nothing to do with the nature of programming > languages... it's about the nature of people. > > > In many ways this is like the browser wars. > > If browsers had been made like half-decent compilers then non-compliant html > > wouldn't render and would get corrected on short order. > > Instead browsers overreach themselves to be nice (to users) and end up being > > horrible to web-developers who now need to maintain 1 dozen browsers × 2 > > dozen versions. > > > > Likewise all the overreaching to be allow 'free-form' layout puts paid to > > all > > attempts at richer structure comprehending tools. > > As a quick example try this: > > You've a 10-file python project in which you want to replace function 'f' > > by function 'longname' > > How easy is it? > > > > I am ready to bet that if you use IE-ish its easy if you use classic editors > > not so. > > If you have a ten-file project that's identifying a key function > globally as 'f', then you already have a problem. If your names are > more useful and informative, a global search-and-replace will do the > job.
Are you sure your global search-and-replace will do a proper job inside strings and comments? > > What's your point, though? Point? Nnotions like identifier (and dozens of others) are straightforwardly present and available inside the python implementation. However the language implementation is a hard-n-high silo For the programmer accessing the language through an editor these notions are not available unless hi-power explosives are used to punch holes in the silo -- eg open Cpython sources. The Smalltalks and Lisps organized the world differently -- the programmer was inside the silo with the corresponding advantages of power and disadvantages of imprisonment. I (and I guess BartC) like to dream of a Utopia that is powerful and free -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list