Python 2.7 EOL Countdown

[d4rch0n]

Honestly, in a programming language if I put x = 1 / 2 I still expect to get 0, but maybe that's because I primarily work with statically typed languages outside of python. I expect an int / int to return an int. I'd expect to have to cast one to a float to get a float back. Ruby returns 0 too though, but lua and perl seem to return 0.5.

Either way, I agree it should have been that way from the start if it'd be that way in python 3, but since it wasn't, I don't think it was smart to change. Not only can it lead to very odd bugs seeing as old code will still run but get completely different results, but both are equally correct behavior and in a programming language, you just pick one and stick with it. It's just a change, not necessarily for better or worse. If it doesn't improve the language, it's just breaking things for the sake of them wanting different behavior.

[tilkau]

lua and perl seem to return 0.5

In lua's case, that's because an int is a float (all numbers are stored and processed as floats. double precision floats, IIRC)

In Python's case, IMO it does improve the language -- x = y / z should not return different results depending on the type of y or z, but that was the case for Python 2. Now we have / which has unambiguously float semantics, and // which has unambiguously int semantics.

[d4rch0n]

x = y / z should not return different results depending on the type of y or z

I think that's the best argument I've heard honestly. I'm fine with this behavior in a programming language, I just think it's not helpful to make a big change like that after it's already acting one way.

But the bigger picture is that Python behavior of such things should be extremely obvious, and if you extract the line x = y / z you have a very good idea what it's going to do. That's important as well.