←back to thread

“I'm basically giving myself a permanent vacation from being BDFL”

(mail.python.org)
2024 points randlet | 1 comments | 12 Jul 18 15:22 UTC | HN request time: 0.284s | source
Show context
AdmiralAsshat ◴[12 Jul 18 16:02 UTC] No.17515876[source]▶
What was the issue that was evidently so contentious that it made him wish to step down?
replies(5): >>17515913 #>>17515941 #>>17515956 #>>17515958 #>>17515959 #
Analemma_ ◴[12 Jul 18 16:09 UTC] No.17515959[source]▶
(a := b) rather than a = b

Naturally people went to the barricades for it, in a classic example of bikeshedding and Wadler's Law (programmers will fight to the death over trivial syntax disagreements and just shrug at profound changes to semantics and architecture)

replies(4): >>17516054 #>>17516202 #>>17516377 #>>17517585 #
fwdpropaganda ◴[12 Jul 18 16:46 UTC] No.17516377[source]▶
Damn dude...

I'm sick and tired of writing stuff like

m = f( <...> )

if m:

    # do stuff with m
Trivial as it may be, I for one welcome this.
replies(3): >>17516951 #>>17517466 #>>17518376 #
1. marcosdumay ◴[12 Jul 18 20:34 UTC] No.17518376[source]▶
Many languages solve that with pattern matching, like in Haskell:

    case f <...> of
        Nothing -> -- Handles the problem values
        Just m -> -- do stuff with m
This is, honestly, much better than an assignment expression. Side-effect expressions always bring problematic cases.