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To: python-list@python.org
Subject: Re: Python Newbie
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Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:33:28 +0100
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From: "Michael Ross" <gmx@ross.cx>
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On Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:40:05 +0100, <piterrr.dolinski@gmail.com> wrote:

>> > if (some statement):		# short form
>> >
>> > rather than
>> >
>> > if (some statement == true):	# long form
>>
>>
>> What all those ugly brackets are for?
>>
>
> Mark,
>
> Back in the day when C was king, or take many newer long established  
> languages (C#, Java), the use of () has been widespread and mandated by  
> the compilers. I have never heard anyone moan about the requirement to  
> use parentheses.

You've never heard me then. I ... "strongly dislike" having to parse  
visual elements which I consider superfluous and implicit.

Does the English language have a proverb like "not being able to see the  
forest for the trees"?

To me, a C source looks like all brackets. Can't see the code for all the  
brackets.


> Now come Python in which parens are optional, and all of a sudden they  
> are considered bad and apparently widely abandoned. Do you really not  
> see that code with parens is much more pleasing visually?

I guess one can get just as religious about the brackets as one can about  
the whitespace.


	if ( condition ) { action }
vs
	if condition: action


In time estimated, I'd say I can read and understand Python code about 20%  
faster than any of these brackety languages, even compared to languages I  
worked a with couple of years longer. That's a lot of effort saved.



Michael