@pbreit > Can't you just explain to people that this is how you query the db: > > rows = db(db.item.id==1).select() > > How much is gained by dropping the "db"?
Programming is all about taking comprehensible pieces and piecing them together for your own purposes. A rote formula of syntax that you don't really understand only helps you do that one thing and superficial variants thereof. Often taking your rote formula and plugging in different values can get you pretty far, but at some point it fails, leaving you lost and frustrated. Sometimes, by just imitating formulas, you'll pick up what's really going on over time, but not without extra effort, and often you just won't. In short, programmers shouldn't use their tools (languages, libraries, etc.) as if they're magic. So I'm not saying Set is hard to use, I'm saying it's hard to truly understand. In your example, not only is the DAL instance db being invoked (which in itself is a weird allowance of Python), invoking a DAL is the preferred means of producing Set objects rather than the Set constructor itself. (And keep in mind that these oddities are on top of producing Query objects from overloaded operators, which is one of the most confusing features of Python.) Again, though, the main issue is that Set just doesn't really do anything and so begs explanation. Sure many students are happy to blindly just imitate a formula, but that's a bad impulse that should be countered. I concede that for web2py's current user base, this is a minor point of null concern, but I feel it's a notable blemish in an otherwise exceptionally clean and well-thought-out API, and a few blemishes like this here and there can represent serious learning hurdles.
