anatoly techtonik added the comment: You're right - groups are defined here: http://docs.python.org/2/library/re.html#re.MatchObject.group
The need to fix this is to gain internal language consistency, external consistency with other major implementations, reduce docs and amount of exception to remember, and thus make this part intuitive. The external inconsistency is that other languages use \0 and don't make distinction between "match group" and "substition group". I wonder if there are any other differences justify the presence of this distinction? Internal inconsistency is in substitution groups notation: \0 is \x0 but is not \g<0> \1 is not \x1 but is \g<1> Let me also put accent that re is a module - not a feature of Python language - that provides ability to work with "regular expressions". Evolution led to the "best practices" that became unwritten standard in different implementations - like using \x for backreferences in replacements. If some library invents its own standards that add nothing to the user rather than "another thing to remember" [1] then the user is automatically granted the right to wear the sign "this library suxx" on her t-shirt. I'd classify a 'language wart' as an inconsistency in expected behavior, independent of the language, where a technical fix is possible, but can not be fixed due to backward compatibility concerns. Language independent, because single language is by definition "works as documented" and has different "features in implementation details". 1. http://php.net/manual/en/types.comparisons.php ---------- _______________________________________ Python tracker <rep...@bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue17426> _______________________________________ _______________________________________________ Python-bugs-list mailing list Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-bugs-list/archive%40mail-archive.com
