Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> writes: > Do you really not see the connection between counting and summing?
Connection? Of course. But I also see a huge distinction. I'm surprised you could misunderstand my position to the extent you think such a question needs to be asked. The difference between “sum these values” versus “count these values” is important. That's at the root of why I find it confusingly wrong to sum True or False values. Do you really not see the distinction between counting and summing? The question is just as silly that way. > If you have three apples, and I have two apples, then in total we have > (count the apples: one two three, four five) five apples. If you have three apples in one basket, and I have two apples in one basket, “sum the baskets” is quite a different operation from “count the baskets”. [3, 2] What is the sum of those values? How many values are there? The distinction between those is why I find it unhelpful to express “how many values?” with “sum them”. > Alas, you missed the bigger bug: I'm counting *blank lines*, not > non-blank lines. You need a `not` in there. Which is, shall we say, not incompatible with the position that the “count the matches by summing bools” method is an unclear expression of intent :-) -- \ “Sittin' on the fence, that's a dangerous course / You can even | `\ catch a bullet from the peace-keeping force” —Dire Straits, | _o__) _Once Upon A Time In The West_ | Ben Finney -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list