I’d speculate it’s meant to mimic Perl’s `qw()` operator, which is like `str.split()` in Python. The module was originally written for contexts where you’re pro

I’d speculate it’s meant to mimic Perl’s `qw()` operator, which is like `str.split()` in Python. The module was originally written for contexts where you’re processing SQL result sets with fixed schemas, and before Python these tasks were traditionally handled in Perl. Python inherits a lot of these loose traditions. Similarly, some parts of the standard-lib (`sys`, `os`) follow shell- or C-like naming conventions that would seem bizarre to someone who’s never used a shell prompt.