On Dec 12, 2007 6:34 PM, Darren Dale <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Wednesday 12 December 2007 7:58:10 pm Gael Varoquaux wrote: > > Hi, > > > > I definetely don't like the fact that .__repr__() and repr() are used all > > over TConfig for eg storing to file. > > > > First of all I would like to modify __repr__ for a TConfig class to give > > a more synthetic view. > > > > I propose to change the current ".__repr__()" method to ".tostring()" and > > to implement a more readable ".__repr__()". > > > > Are the different people interested in these issues OK with that? If yes, > > where is the authoritative repo for TConfig? Which SVN should I start > > hacking? > > I consider the authoritative TConfig to be the one in Ipython1.sandbox, but it > doesnt matter in practice because I keep the two in sync. > > I do want to be able to save the verbose information to a file, since we want > to be able to generate a commented file that people can use to learn how to > make modifications. If that doesnt change, I don't have an objection to > making __repr__ terse.
On second thought though: __str__ is the one meant for 'human consumption', while __repr__ is deliberately meant to be much more machine-like. Basically the idea is that, whenever possible, one can do x == eval(repr(x)) That is true for many of the builtin data types of the language. Quoting http://docs.python.org/ref/customization.html#l2h-179 : __repr__( self) Called by the repr() built-in function and by string conversions (reverse quotes) to compute the ``official'' string representation of an object. If at all possible, this should look like a valid Python expression that could be used to recreate an object with the same value (given an appropriate environment). If this is not possible, a string of the form "<...some useful description...>" should be returned. The return value must be a string object. If a class defines __repr__() but not __str__(), then __repr__() is also used when an ``informal'' string representation of instances of that class is required. This is typically used for debugging, so it is important that the representation is information-rich and unambiguous. So Gael, would you be OK with a terser str() and leaving repr to honor this python convention? Cheers, f ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net email is sponsored by: Check out the new SourceForge.net Marketplace. It's the best place to buy or sell services for just about anything Open Source. http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;164216239;13503038;w?http://sf.net/marketplace _______________________________________________ Matplotlib-devel mailing list Matplotlib-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-devel
