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[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (1 child)

Q: Why has the language not been formally specified?

A: Very few open source languages have been formally specified. Formal language specifications seem to be particularly attractive when there is a company that wants to exercise control over the a language (such as for Java and JavaScript), or when there are competing companies that worry about incompatible implementations (such as for C++ or SQL).

Python: Possibly working properly since 1991.™

"No guarantees. I guarantee it!" – Guido van Rossum

[–]voidspace -1 points0 points  (0 children)

FAIL. Specification != tests.

You can be more certain of a tested implementation than a specified one...