Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!news.stack.nl!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed5.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.107 X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.79; '*S*': 0.00; 'argument,': 0.09; 'googling': 0.09; 'fluent': 0.16; 'really.': 0.16; 'received:192.168.0.11': 0.16; 'subject:syntax': 0.16; 'versed': 0.16; 'trying': 0.21; 'figure': 0.23; 'function': 0.27; 'second': 0.29; 'really,': 0.30; 'does': 0.32; 'minor': 0.32; 'idea': 0.32; 'message-id:@gmail.com': 0.33; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.33; 'this.': 0.33; 'there': 0.33; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.34; 'languages': 0.35; 'two': 0.37; 'but': 0.37; 'reference': 0.37; 'received:192': 0.37; 'received:74.125': 0.37; 'received:google.com': 0.37; 'could': 0.37; 'received:192.168.0': 0.38; 'seeing': 0.38; 'put': 0.38; 'concepts': 0.39; 'finding': 0.39; 'being': 0.39; 'focus': 0.39; 'help': 0.39; 'third': 0.40; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.40; 'received:192.168': 0.40; 'your': 0.61; 'happen': 0.61; 'google.': 0.64; 'article': 0.74; 'bottom,': 0.84; 'oneself': 0.93 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:user-agent:mime-version:to:subject :content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=iK/udNdHc5jwPk02hDjDvOU7vCxHo1B6qS0E1SUGbVM=; b=IbT8/y1bXU6+ers5UgJ/Ch4kU7584J/ibZxwj2GkU9iysIB1d7LlqqvriuPDLv2wEY c+o8MNhFhd7XpwuaHXi3T1J1IDYBguZuUS/SJcqxt2SrZs0SSwTMCvOUrLt2q6xgQPxr E6Tos36bFsTD5/1Wz5+aBISSMoHHTMfYtDna4= Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:53:22 +0100 From: Eelco Hoogendoorn User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:8.0) Gecko/20111105 Thunderbird/8.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: python-list@python.org Subject: Verbose and flexible args and kwargs syntax Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.12 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 16 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1323647606 news.xs4all.nl 6947 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:37055 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.python:16994 > There are other means of finding information than Google. Really. This is really only a very minor point in my argument, so I dont want to put the focus on this. But really, no. Googling 'myprogramminglanguage conceptimtryingtofigureout' is my first, second and third line of defence. Yes, I could read the reference manual from top to bottom, and if I already knew about the existence of your article then im sure that would be a great help too. But the situation one finds oneself in is seeing two asterikses and not even being aware they are particular to function definitions/invocations. Im fluent in many different languages and well versed in CS concepts and jargon, but I had no idea what to search for when first trying to figure out the meaning of these symbols, and that does not happen often to me.