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i was just perusing a Wikipedia entry on the "off side rule" at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-side_rule .
It says that the colon in Python is purely for readability, and cites
our FAQ entry
http://www.python.org/doc/faq/genera...ass-statements
.
However, near the top of the Alternatives section, it states that for C
type, curly braces using languages:
"An advantage of this is that program code can be automatically
reformatted and neatly indented without fear of the block structure
changing".

Thinking about it a little, it seems that a colon followed by
non-indented code that has just been pasted in could also be used by a
Python-aware editor as a flag to re-indent the pasted code.

Tell me it is not so, or I will be editing the Wikipedia page I think.
And if it is true then do we need to update the FAQ?

- Paddy.

Paddy wrote:
> Thinking about it a little, it seems that a colon followed by
> non-indented code that has just been pasted in could also be used by a
> Python-aware editor as a flag to re-indent the pasted code.


How would it reindent this code?

if foo:
print "Foo!"
if bar:
print "Bar!"

Like this?

if foo:
print "Foo!"
if bar:
print "Bar!"

Or like this?

if foo:
print "Foo!"
if bar:
print "Bar!"

On 2007-01-09, Leif K-Brooks <> wrote:
> Paddy wrote:
>> Thinking about it a little, it seems that a colon followed by
>> non-indented code that has just been pasted in could also be
>> used by a Python-aware editor as a flag to re-indent the
>> pasted code.
>
> How would it reindent this code?
>
> if foo:
> print "Foo!"
> if bar:
> print "Bar!"
>
> Like this?
>
> if foo:
> print "Foo!"
> if bar:
> print "Bar!"
>
> Or like this?
>
> if foo:
> print "Foo!"
> if bar:
> print "Bar!"

That's the key issue. The colon gives the editor an easy clue
where a block starts, but the there's no simply way to determine
where the block is supposed to end.

--
Neil Cerutti
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community. --Church
Bulletin Blooper