Comments on The History of Python: Adding Support for User-defined Classes

Spanish translation here

2009-04-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Spanish translation here

Thanks Matt, fixed. I also added a footnote about...

2009-03-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks Matt, fixed. I also added a footnote about new-style classes to that sentence.

In this sentence:For example, methods can be added...

2009-03-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

In this sentence:

For example, methods can be added or modified by simplifying updating the class dictionary after a class
object has already been created!

Should that be "simply updating" instead?

Guido, if you had to do it over again, would you r...

2009-02-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Guido, if you had to do it over again, would you require variable declarations before first use (optionally w/ initializer)?

Thank you very much for this useful insight in the...

2009-02-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you very much for this useful insight in the design of Python classes and methods !

This is probably the best answer I've ever read to the recurrent question "why does Python need self?" ;-)

And your explanations about why lack of variable declarations is essential to Python philosophy is very useful too.

I like dictionaries/namespaces better than objects...

2009-02-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

I like dictionaries/namespaces better than objects. For me, your accomplishment with Python's implementation of user classes is on a par with Linus's insight to base a DVCS on a "mere" filesystem that only tracks content based on cryptographic hashes. A single idea, very simple but not _too_ simple, implies everything else, to great success.

Computer science is too important to leave in the hands of people who are not implementors.

@Ethan: The names were the same as the internal na...

2009-02-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

@Ethan: The names were the same as the internal names for the same things. The naming style comes from an old C convention; UNIX system calls use this style too (st_mtime, tm_sec, etc.).

Hi, about introspection and "similar things lookin...

2009-02-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hi, about introspection and "similar things looking similar", I'm curious where the names came from for introspecting various things in Python: func_name, func_doc, im_func, im_class, im_self, f_locals, f_builtins, etc.

Ethan