[Numpy-discussion] Response to PEP suggestions

[Robert Kern]

konrad.hinsen at laposte.net wrote:
> On 18.02.2005, at 18:59, Travis Oliphant wrote:

>> Do you think this would fly with the Python folks.  Counting the  
>> suggestion above, we would be encouraging the creation of 39 new 
>> types  to the Python core.  My current count shows the current number 
>> of  types as 35 so
> 
> 
> Those new types would (if all goes well) be part of the standard  
> library, but not built-in types. Compared to the number of types and  
> classes in the standard library, the addition is not so big. There  
> wouldn't be literals either. Anyone who doesn't use the array module  
> could thus safely ignore the existence of those types.

I don't see the problem that this approach would solve. It doesn't solve 
the list/tuple indexing problem by itself. Even if the types are part of 
the standard library, they won't be bona-fide ints, so the indexing code 
would still have to be modified to check for them.

I *do* like the idea of the typecode objects, however they are 
implemented, to be able to act as constructors.

-- 
Robert Kern
rkern at ucsd.edu

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
  Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
   -- Richard Harter