Agreed: finding matching braces can be a major pain! Perhaps because I was so accustomed to coding in languages that use braces, the indentation feature did take some getting used to, but I am gradually acquiring a taste for it.
And the many other elegant and powerful features of Python and vast set of 3rd-party packages make it great. On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 11:14 AM, Melissa Rice <[email protected]> wrote: > RF> For instance, when cutting and pasting code snippets from other > sources on the web or even when > RF> going between different code editors that I have, > RF> there have been times when I have had trouble getting the indentation > implemented correctly. > > I would call that a deficiency in the code-posting or code-snipping > process, > rather than the language. I've programmed in a lot of languages and python > is definitely my favorite. I love syntactic indentation. My editor is set > to > use spaces instead of tabs and some editors/IDEs will warn about incorrect > indentation (directly or indirectly). And I don't miss braces for blocking. > Brace matching is a pain, even with an editor that colors matching braces. > Finding wrong indentation is much easier than finding wrong braces, IMHO. > I did not find syntactic indentation to be an acquired taste - I loved it > immediately. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. > > Best regards, > > Melissa > ----- > Dr. Melissa Rice, PhD > Full Moon Technical Solutions, LLC > 14202 60th Ave, NW > Stanwood, WA 98292-4808 > email: mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]> > phone: 360-654-0709 > cell: 425-923-7713 > > > > Friday, April 22, 2011, 11:04:32 AM, Richard Fuhr < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > While I believe it is an excellent idea to always use a clear and > consistent indentation style when programming in any language, if I had been > the BDFL for Python, I would not have made indentation be an intrinsic part > of its syntax. > > For instance, when cutting and pasting code snippets from other sources on > the web or even when going between different code editors that I have, there > have been times when I have had trouble getting the indentation implemented > correctly. Some of this may be attributable to the use of invisible tab > characters oin some of those other sources, so when I am coding Python from > scratch, I stick with spaces and not tabs. > > In other languages (such as C++ and Objective-C) and in other IDEs (such as > Visual Studio and Xcode) I routinely have taken advantage of their built-in > tools to ensure that my code is indented properly. > > Having said that, I have learned to live with the fact that indentation is > part of the syntax in Python and therefore enjoy those Python-aware editors > that work nicely with the indentation. > > On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 9:25 AM, David Goldsmith <[email protected] > > wrote: > > Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:50:03 -0700 > From: James Thiele <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [SEAPY] Introduction > To: Seattle Python Interest Group <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > > I always have used indentation in languages using braces (C/Perl/C++/etc) > even though it's not required. Just makes code more readable. > > Indeed: it's been a while, but IIRC, K&R (the inventors of C and authors of > what for a long time was THE text on it) _urged_ readers/prospective > programmers to use indentation for readability, despite their purposeful > design of the language to make it optional (allowed just a little too much > freedom, perhaps, but then they were NeXT when FORTRAN, COBOL, etc. were > already Microsoft and Apple, i.e., if they--or AT&T, as it were--wanted > "market share," they couldn't start out by limiting people; of course, the > primary motivation for this freedom, as we've already seen in this thread, > was probably simplification of the compiler's parser). > > DG > > -- Richard Fuhr 206-524-8049 land line 206-491-5640 cell phone
