Pythons biggest (annoying) flaw: default method params \ stacker news ~devs

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Pythons biggest (annoying) flaw: default method params

619 sats \ 9 comments \ @zuspotirko 13h devs

I like Python a lot. But this fcking design decision is so annoying. I cannot tell you how many times I have tumbled over this now by accident.

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15 sats \ 2 replies \ @franzap 11h

Python is a great language but I don't like the aesthetics (of the language and the community). I like working with beautiful things. Ruby is much better in this respect

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @zuspotirko OP 11h

aesthetics of the language?

aesthetics and the community?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 10h

I would agree. Python is kind of like helvetica and Ruby is more like caligraphy. Meaning, there's something about Ruby's aesthetics that make it feel more like art.

57 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 12h

I didn't know this. I thought method params are newly instantiated and destroyed each function call.

Learn new things everyday.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @nikotsla 12h

Using mutable objects as default values is a bad idea. I think that's the premise, but yea... "default value" is odd.

17 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 12h

Interesting, I thought all this time this isn't limited to Python but a general reference vs value problem. However, Javascript doesn't express this behavior:

function surprise(myList = []) {
  console.log(myList)
  myList.push(1)
}

surprise() // prints []
surprise() // prints []

5 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 10h

Why did they do this? I assume it's useful in some respect or maybe it's just easier for the interpreter.

213 sats \ 0 replies \ @zuspotirko OP 10h

I can't tell you for sure why this decision was made but this concept is only strange to us coming from modern programming languages that have a strong separation between what is code and what is data .

An example of this is e.g. the let-over-lamda paradigm where you can change what a function does by calling it.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nitter 13h bot

https://xcancel.com/hot_girl_spring/status/1859642773059797181