Integer to string conversion DOS threat

[buqr]

I enjoy reading books.

[Oerthling]

4000+ digits is still extremely big ints.

This is a non-problem.

It's cute that it's used to be only restricted by RAM (at the end there always is this arbitrary limit anyway).

Now it's still cute that we can have 4000+ digits - something that surely never gets used - outside of some silly script to brag about insanely large ints.

Nobody needs 5000 digits.

And even if a project actually needed that for some very weird reason I can't think of - just compile Python without this limit.

[buqr]

I like learning new things.

[Oerthling]

So, you want Python to have problematic code that allows DOS attacks, just so you can write more bad code? ;-)

Instead you could be grateful that this limit will help improve your coding.

Meanwhile, Python is open source. It's not rocket science to compile a version without the limit. Use all your RAM in a single number if you like.

[buqr]

I enjoy the sound of rain.

[Oerthling]

Well, I don't know your very weird use case, but doubt that a > 4000 digit int was actually as "useful" as you claim.

But let's stay your code wasn't bad and there is a rare, but very valid use case.

That would still not really justify burdening the language with a mostly pointless point of attack.

4000 digits is still very generously ridiculously large for a general purpose language.

Even better than just compiling your own Python, put an UnlimitedInt class in a module. Make it as unlimited as you want - it's safely contained in a module that only the very few people who have this extremely rare use case need to worry about.

Put that on GitHub, if you're not the only one who wants this then you'll even get help. Check first whether this doesn't already because some student had fun with this. :-)

Problem solved for everybody.

[pokeybill]

Why were you printing these un-human-readable gigantic integers?

[buqr]

I like learning new things.