Steve D'Aprano <steve+pyt...@pearwood.info> writes: > On Sun, 5 Nov 2017 06:42 am, Stefan Ram wrote: > > > What is the one way to do it? > > There is no philosophy of "one way to do it" in Python, that is a > misunderstanding (possibly deliberate...) spread about by Perl users, > to contrast Python from Perl's "more than one way to do it". > > The Zen of Python says: > > There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it. > > > The emphasis is on "obvious", not "one". There should be *at least* > one, but preferably only one, OBVIOUS way to solve any problem.
I think the confusion is quite understandable, and that the Zen was written quite consciously referencing the (at the time quite well-known) Perl princple “There's more than one way to do it”. Of course, “consciously referencing and contrasting with some well-known meme” is very close to “deliberately inviting confusion from those who don't examine the contrast closely enough”. So, I have given up trying to assign *blame* for that confusion. But from what I can tell it's a canard to say that the confusion is “spread about by Perl users”. On the contrary, in my experience, the confusion is also spread quite well by non-Perl-using, Python advocates. Heck, as someoone who works to *dispel* that confusion, I still find it difficult to place the emphasis correctly when rattling off that admonishment from the Zen. -- \ “Perchance you who pronounce my sentence are in greater fear | `\ than I who receive it.” —Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake by | _o__) the Catholic church for the heresy of heliocentrism, 1600-02-16 | Ben Finney -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
