[Python-ideas] constant/enum type in stdlib

Wed Jan 30 06:26:11 CET 2013

> Hm, if people really want to write something like

>> color = enum(RED, WHITE, BLUE)
>> that might still be true, but given that it's likely going to look a
> little more like a class definition, this doesn't look so bad, and
> certainly doesn't violate DRY (though it's somewhat verbose):
>> class color(enum):
> RED = value()
> WHITE = value()
> BLUE = value()
>> The Python 3 metaclass can observe the order in which the values are
> defined easily by setting the class dict to an OrderdDict.
>>Even though I agree that enums lend themselves nicely to "class"-y syntax,
the example you provide shows exactly why sticking to existing syntax makes
use bend over backwards. Because 'color' is really not a class. And I don't
want to explicitly say it's both a class and it subclasses something called
'enum'. And I don't want to specify values when I don't need values. All I
really want is:
enum color:
 RED
 WHITE
 BLUE
Or shorter:
enum color:
 RED, WHITE, BLUE
Would adding a new "enum" keyword in Python 3.4 *really* meet that much
resistance? ISTM built-in, standard, enums have been on the wishlist of
Python developers for a long time.
Eli
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