Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true

From	Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info>
Subject	Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true
Newsgroups	comp.lang.python
References	<8abff237-5ccd-4eb6-85c8-cdc9e87520b7@bl1g2000vbb.googlegroups.com> <BANLkTi=oDios_uPK5UrMWmouhGf-4MVAuA@mail.gmail.com> <mailman.234.1302569202.9059.python-list@python.org> <90v871FkuaU1@mid.individual.net>
Date	2011-04-17 08:45 +0000
Message-ID	<4daaa8a0$0$29986$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> (permalink)
Organization	Unlimited download news at news.astraweb.com

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On Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:21:53 +1200, Gregory Ewing wrote:

> Chris Angelico wrote:
> 
>> def fac(n):
>>     # attempt to get from a cache
>>     return? cache[n]
>>     # not in cache, calculate the value
>>     ret=1 if n<=1 else fac(n-1)*n
>>     # and cache and return it
>>     cache[n]=ret; return ret
> 
> My idiom for fetching from a cache looks like this:
> 
>    def get_from_cache(x):
>      y = cache.get(x)
>      if not y:
>        y = compute_from(x)
>        cache[x] = y
>      return y
> 
> which doesn't require any conditional returns.


I'm sure you realise that that snippet needlessly recalculates any cached 
result that happens to be false, but others reading might not.

If the compute_from function is expensive (and it better be, otherwise 
why are you bothering with a cache?), that could be expensive:

compute_from = is_prime_number
get_from_cache(253590421923456781012937340348512751108342137327 *
               195789732345627381015532937340363481051277321451)

:)

A better way is to explicitly test for the sentinel:

    y = cache.get(x)
    if y is not None:
        ...




-- 
Steven

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Feature suggestion -- return if true zildjohn01 <zildjohn01@gmail.com> - 2011-04-11 16:17 -0700
  Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 10:27 +1000
    Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2011-04-12 01:44 +0000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 12:12 +1000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2011-04-12 02:18 +0000
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 12:44 +1000
            Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2011-04-12 13:42 +0000
            Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true "Martin v. Loewis" <martin@v.loewis.de> - 2011-04-17 12:03 +0200
              Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-18 09:36 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 12:20 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Zero Piraeus <schesis@gmail.com> - 2011-04-11 22:43 -0400
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 12:44 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 12:49 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 12:59 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 13:01 +1000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Nobody <nobody@nowhere.com> - 2011-04-12 07:08 +0100
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-12 16:21 +1000
            Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-04-12 10:52 +0000
            Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true scattered <tooscattered@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 03:55 -0700
              Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true "Colin J. Williams" <cjw@ncf.ca> - 2011-04-12 10:01 -0400
            Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2011-04-12 13:50 +0000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2011-04-12 13:44 +0000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Westley Martínez <anikom15@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 07:05 -0700
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true scattered <tooscattered@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 07:58 -0700
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Westley Martínez <anikom15@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 15:45 -0700
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-13 08:52 +1000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true zildjohn01 <zildjohn01@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 11:25 -0700
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2011-04-12 15:14 -0400
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true alex23 <wuwei23@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 21:05 -0700
    Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Teemu Likonen <tlikonen@iki.fi> - 2011-04-12 21:00 +0300
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Ian Kelly <ian.g.kelly@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 12:25 -0600
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> - 2011-04-12 20:13 +0000
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> - 2011-04-12 20:16 +0000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Ian Kelly <ian.g.kelly@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 12:29 -0600
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Paul Rudin <paul.nospam@rudin.co.uk> - 2011-04-12 19:28 +0100
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Rebert <clp2@rebertia.com> - 2011-04-12 13:26 -0700
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-13 08:34 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> - 2011-04-12 16:06 -0700
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Thomas Rachel <nutznetz-0c1b6768-bfa9-48d5-a470-7603bd3aa915@spamschutz.glglgl.de> - 2011-04-21 12:13 +0200
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-13 09:12 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Westley Martínez <anikom15@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 16:15 -0700
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> - 2011-04-12 16:48 -0700
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-04-13 00:03 +0000
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> - 2011-04-12 19:42 -0700
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-13 13:00 +1000
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true James Mills <prologic@shortcircuit.net.au> - 2011-04-13 13:28 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Teemu Likonen <tlikonen@iki.fi> - 2011-04-13 13:58 +0300
  Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 10:46 +1000
    Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2011-04-17 16:21 +1200
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-17 14:31 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-04-17 08:45 +0000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-17 19:07 +1000
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-04-17 15:23 +0000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2011-04-18 12:25 +1200
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Dave Angel <davea@ieee.org> - 2011-04-17 22:04 -0400
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-18 12:10 +1000
          Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2011-04-19 12:35 +1200
            Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Jussi Piitulainen <jpiitula@ling.helsinki.fi> - 2011-04-19 09:42 +0300
              Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-19 17:01 +1000
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true "D'Arcy J.M. Cain" <darcy@druid.net> - 2011-04-17 08:33 -0400
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-04-17 15:10 +0000
        Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true aahz@pythoncraft.com (Aahz) - 2011-04-18 09:11 -0700
      Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Greg Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2011-04-18 11:09 +1200
  Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 10:51 +1000
  Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2011-04-11 23:58 -0700
    Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true John Roth <johnroth1@gmail.com> - 2011-04-12 06:16 -0700
    Re: Feature suggestion -- return if true Mel <mwilson@the-wire.com> - 2011-04-12 11:12 -0400

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