context manager based alternative to Re: Proposal: === and !===

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Date	Fri, 11 Jul 2014 10:20:36 +1000
From	Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au>
To	python-list@python.org
Subject	context manager based alternative to Re: Proposal: === and !===
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Cc	Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info>, "Anders J. Munch" <2014@jmunch.dk>
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operators
Reply-To:
In-Reply-To: <20140709231623.GA66358@cskk.homeip.net>

I posted this the other day and haven't seen a response, not even a scathing
rejection...

Here's an alternative proposal that doesn't involve a new operator.

Consider this code snippet:

with float.behaviour(nan_eq=True):
... code here ...

This is intended to set a thread-local behaviour flag on the entire float type
and undo it on exit from the context.

This has the following advantages:

- it is very easy to use, and makes plain that this particular chunk of code has special rules

- it makes NaN == behave as requested in a particular window

- it effectively wraps all code called inside the suite

- because it is thread local it doesn't asynchronously affect other running code

- it doesn't introduce a new operator

- it affects a tightly constrainted behaviour, and can obviously be extended to other special cases if they arise, for example to only make the same flavour of NaN compare equal

- if the special Nan != Nan checks occur only in the Nan instances themselves (eg by monkey patching __eq__ onto one) then it should not affect performance outside the NaN instances

The downside is that it could break code depending on NaN being
nonreflexive _if_ that code is called within the suite.

Personally, I would take this over a new and only-subtly-different-from-==
"===" operator. It also seems to give more control to the programmer, in that
they can set the domain in which the behaviour obtains.

Cheers,
Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au>

Q: How many user support people does it take to change a light bulb?
A: We have an exact copy of the light bulb here and it seems to be
working fine. Can you tell me what kind of system you have?

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Thread

context manager based alternative to Re: Proposal: === and !=== Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au> - 2014-07-11 10:20 +1000
  Re: context manager based alternative to Re: Proposal: === and !=== Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2014-07-10 21:17 -0400
    Re: context manager based alternative to Re: Proposal: === and !=== Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2014-07-11 14:37 +1000

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