Added stuff about indentation
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Guido van Rossum
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Misc/FAQ
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Misc/FAQ
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@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ Reply-to: guido@cwi.nl (Guido van Rossum)
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Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
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Archive-name: python-faq/part1
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Version: 1.7
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Last-modified: 4 May 1994
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Version: 1.8
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Last-modified: 15 May 1994
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This article contains answers to Frequently Asked Questions about
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Python (an object-oriented interpreted programming language -- see
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@ -62,11 +62,12 @@ Here's an overview of the questions per chapter:
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1.2. Q. Why is it called Python?
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1.3. Q. How do I obtain a copy of the Python source?
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1.4. Q. How do I get documentation on Python?
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1.5. Q. Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to Python?
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1.6. Q. Is there a book on Python, or will there be one out soon?
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1.7. Q. Are there any published articles about Python that I can quote?
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1.8. Q. How does the Python version numbering scheme work?
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1.9. Q. Are there other ftp sites that carry Python related material?
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1.5. Q. Are there other ftp sites that mirror the Python distribution?
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1.6. Q. Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to Python?
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1.7. Q. Is there a book on Python, or will there be one out soon?
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1.8. Q. Are there any published articles about Python that I can quote?
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1.9. Q. How does the Python version numbering scheme work?
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1.10. Q. Are there other ftp sites that carry Python related material?
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2. Python in the real world
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2.1. Q. How many people are using Python?
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@ -120,6 +121,7 @@ Here's an overview of the questions per chapter:
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in Python? (Persistent == automatically saved to and restored from
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disk.)
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6.3. Q. Why isn't there a switch or case statement in Python?
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6.4. Q. Why does Python use indentation for grouping of statements?
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7. Using Python on non-UNIX platforms
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7.1. Q. Is there a Mac version of Python?
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@ -194,20 +196,23 @@ standard or built-in types, functions and modules, all of which are
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described here. PostScript for a high-level description of Python is
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in the file nluug-paper.ps.
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The following sites keep mirrors of the Python distribution:
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1.5. Q. Are there other ftp sites that mirror the Python distribution?
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A. The following sites keep mirrors of the Python distribution:
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Site IP address Directory
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gatekeeper.dec.com 16.1.0.2 /pub/plan/python/cwi
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ftp.uu.net 192.48.96.9 /languages/python
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ftp.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 /graphics/graphics/sgi-stuff/python
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ftp.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 /pub/languages/python (old?)
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ftp.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 /pub/languages/python
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ftp.fu-berlin.de 130.133.4.50 /pub/unix/languages/python (*python* only)
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ftp.sunet.se 130.238.127.3 /pub/lang/python
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Or try archie on e.g. python1.0 to locate the nearest copy of that
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version...
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1.5. Q. Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to Python?
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1.6. Q. Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to Python?
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A. There is a newsgroup, comp.lang.python, and a mailing list. The
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newsgroup and mailing list are gatewayed into each other -- if you can
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@ -215,7 +220,7 @@ read news it is not necessary to subscribe to the mailing list. Send
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e-mail to python-list-request@cwi.nl to (un)subscribe to the mailing
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list.
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1.6. Q. Is there a book on Python, or will there be one out soon?
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1.7. Q. Is there a book on Python, or will there be one out soon?
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A. Unfortunately, not yet. I would like to write one but my
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obligations at CWI include too much other work to make much progress
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@ -224,7 +229,7 @@ helping the production of a book or reference manual, but so far there
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are no firm plans. If you volunteer help, by all means drop me a
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note!
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1.7. Q. Are there any published articles about Python that I can quote?
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1.8. Q. Are there any published articles about Python that I can quote?
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A. So far the only refereed and published article that describes
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Python in some detail is:
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@ -247,7 +252,7 @@ presentation can be found in the ftp directory mentioned a few
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questions earlier, with filenames nluug-paper.ps and nluug-slides.ps,
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respectively.
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1.8. Q. How does the Python version numbering scheme work?
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1.9. Q. How does the Python version numbering scheme work?
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A. Python versions are numbered A.B.C. A is the major version number
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-- it is only incremented for major changes in functionality or source
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@ -257,7 +262,7 @@ incremented for each new release. Note that in the past, patches have
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added significant changes; in fact the changeover from 0.9.9 to 1.0.0
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was the first time that either A or B changed!
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1.9. Q. Are there other ftp sites that carry Python related material?
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1.10. Q. Are there other ftp sites that carry Python related material?
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A. An interesting ftp site for Python users is ftp.markv.com
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(192.122.251.1); the directory pub/python contains a growing
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@ -606,6 +611,42 @@ if... elif... elif... else. There have been some proposals for switch
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statement syntax, but there is no concensus (yet) on whether and how
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to do range tests.
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6.4. Q. Why does Python use indentation for grouping of statements?
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A. Basically I believe that using indentation for grouping is
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extremely elegant and contributes a lot to the clarity of the average
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Python program. Most people learn to love this feature after a while.
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Some arguments for it:
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- Since there are no begin/end brackets there cannot be a disagreement
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between grouping perceived by the parser and the human reader. I
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remember long ago seeing a C fragment like this:
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if (x <= y)
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x++;
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y--;
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z++;
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and staring a long time at it wondering why y was being decremented
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even for x > y... (And I wasn't a C newbie then either.)
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- Since there are no begin/end brackets there can be no conflicting
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coding styles. In C there are loads of different ways to place the
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braces (including the choice whether to place braces around single
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statements in certain cases, for consistency). If you're used to
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reading (and writing) code that uses one style, you will feel at least
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slightly uneasy when reading (or being required to write) another
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style.
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- Many coding styles place begin/end brackets on a line by themself.
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This makes programs considerably longer and wastes valuable screen
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space, making it harder to get a good overview over a program.
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Ideally, a function should fit on one basic tty screen (say, 20
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lines). 20 lines of Python are worth a LOT more than 20 lines of C.
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This is not solely due to the lack of begin/end brackets (the lack of
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declarations also helps, and the powerful operations of course), but
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it certainly helps!
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7. Using Python on non-UNIX platforms
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=====================================
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