4 ms·
That quote isn't quite correct. The PEP quote is: "There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it." The "obvious" portion of that makes
by sigzero 16y ago
That quote isn't quite correct. The PEP quote is:
"There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it."
The "obvious" portion of that makes it a little less strict than your quotation. I think it is a "good" axiom to try and aim for. The problem is people think differently and you can't force that really.
I like Perl, where almost anything goes, though. :)
- jamesbritt 16y agoThe "obvious" portion of that makes it a little less strict than your quotation. The "obvious" portion is what makes it such a problem. If you have one library for a task, then the choice really is obvious. If you have two libraries, each very good but offering different takes on servicing a task, then "obvious" becomes a problem, and if "obvious" is a goal then one of those libraries becomes a problem. "Obvious" is a problematic goal much like "fair" and "equal" are problematic goals in society. You end up sacrificing much that is good and valuable in pursuit of what is often a vague and situational ideal.
- j_baker 16y agoYes, obviousness is subjective. However, we're discussing what makes a programming language good. Goodness is subjective too, is it not?
- jamesbritt 16y agoThe problem is not that it's subjective, it's that it leads to unintended conflicts when you try to enforce it.
- masklinn 16y ago> Yes, obviousness is subjective. The subjectivity of the obviousness being nicely handled by the next stanza: > Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.