Languages named for mediocre comedy, dictionaries, generators and XML processing

[Uche Ogbuji <uche.ogbuji@fourthought.com>]

> Danny Ayers scripsit:
> > 
> > sayeth the functional programmer :
> > >Python is essentially Scheme with indentation instead of parentheses.
> > 
> > sayeth the OO programmer :
> > Python is essentially Java with indentation instead of braces.
> > 
> > sayeth the procedural programmer :
> > >Python is essentially Pascal with indentation instead of (errm) newlines.
> 
> Yes, these are true too.  But Python 2.x has continuations (somewhat hidden,
> but they're there, aka a non-LIFO control regime.  No other language in
> non-research use has that except Scheme.

Just to be clear, generators emerged with Python 2.2.  You can get straight up 
continuations, coroutines, microthreads and a truly fabulous menagerie in 
Stackless Python [1], though Christian Tismer, the Stackless guru, has decided 
to cull the herd a bit since Guido accepted Generators, on which you can build 
at least microthreads and coroutines.

And ya better believe it: Generators+XML rock the park, for real [2].  Besides 
Python's powerful dictionaries, they are probably the most useful core idiom 
I've seen in a mainstream language through the glass of XML processing.

[1] http://www.stackless.com/
[2] http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-tipgenr.html


-- 
Uche Ogbuji                                    Fourthought, Inc.
http://uche.ogbuji.net    http://4Suite.org    http://fourthought.com
Python&XML column: 2. Introducing PyXML - http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/09/25/p
y.html
The Past, Present and Future of Web Services 1 - http://www.webservices.org/ind
ex.php/article/articleview/663/1/24/
The Past, Present and Future of Web Services 2 - 'http://www.webservices.org/in
dex.php/article/articleview/679/1/24/
Serenity through markup - http://adtmag.com/article.asp?id=6807
Tip: Using generators for XML processing - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerwork
s/xml/library/x-tipgenr.html