[Python-Dev] PEP 352 Transition Plan

Sat Nov 5 17:29:49 CET 2005

[Guido van Rossum]
> I've made a final pass over PEP 352, mostly fixing the __str__, 
> __unicode__ and __repr__ methods to behave more reasonably. I'm all 
> for accepting it now. Does anybody see any last-minute show-stopping 
> problems with it?

I did not follow the thread, so maybe I'm out in order, be kind with me.
After having read PEP 352, it is not crystal clear whether in:
 try:
 ...
 except:
 ...
the "except:" will mean "except BaseException:" or "except Exception:".
I would except the first, but the text beginning the section titled 
"Exception Hierarchy Changes" suggests it could mean the second, without
really stating it.
Let me argue that "except BaseException:" is preferable. First, because 
there is no reason to load a bare "except:" by anything but a very 
simple and clean meaning, like the real base of the exception hierarchy. 
Second, as a bare "except:" is not considered good practice on average, 
it would be counter-productive trying to figure out ways to make it more 
frequently _usable_.
-- 
François Pinard http://pinard.progiciels-bpi.ca