Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers

From	Terry Jan Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu>
Subject	Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers
Date	2013-06-11 02:06 -0400
References	<mailman.3001.1370909708.3114.python-list@python.org> <51b691ea$0$29997$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.python
Message-ID	<mailman.3008.1370930788.3114.python-list@python.org> (permalink)

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On 6/10/2013 10:56 PM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:

>> I was initially confused
>> and reading the code still takes a small bit of extra mental energy.
>> Idle stays confused and will wrongly color the list instance name until
>> it is changed. Calling the file list 'fnames' or 'filenames' would have
>> been clearer to both me and Idle.
>
> Correct. The downside of editors that colourise text is that sometimes
> they colourise it wrong. In this case, how is the editor supposed to know
> that list no longer refers to the built-in list?
>
> This is yet another good argument for being cautious about shadowing
> built-ins.

After posting I remembered that there are also colorized text blocks on 
web pages. Each person will have to decide for themselves whether the 
convenience of reusing a builtin name is worth having their code 
mis-colorized. As a reader, I decided that it is not.

tjr

Thread

"Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Terry Jan Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2013-06-10 20:14 -0400
  Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 19:36 -0700
    Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-06-11 03:02 +0000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 20:30 -0700
        Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-06-11 05:52 +0000
        Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-06-11 17:20 +1000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-06-11 13:57 +1000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Serhiy Storchaka <storchaka@gmail.com> - 2013-06-11 18:55 +0300
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Mark Janssen <dreamingforward@gmail.com> - 2013-06-12 17:04 -0700
        Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-06-13 01:01 +0000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-06-13 10:08 +1000
        Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-06-13 01:08 +0000
          Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-06-13 11:30 +1000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Skip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com> - 2013-06-12 19:18 -0500
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-06-13 10:33 +1000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> - 2013-06-12 17:30 -0700
  Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-06-11 02:56 +0000
    Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Terry Jan Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2013-06-11 02:06 -0400
    Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Rick Johnson <rantingrickjohnson@gmail.com> - 2013-06-11 08:22 -0700
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-06-11 16:59 +0000
      Re: "Don't rebind built-in names*" - it confuses readers Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-06-12 03:32 +1000

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