[Python-Dev] String module

[Alex Martelli]

On Wednesday 29 May 2002 07:28 pm, Raymond Hettinger wrote:
	...
> strings.  That way, we can get O(1) behavior instead of O(n) behavior for
> code like:  if c in str.printable:  c='*'.   If someone needs to know the
> contents, they can run str.printable.keys().  Also, because the dictionary
> is mutable, someone can (at runtime) expand or contract the definitions:
> str.whitespace.append('_').

append would of course not work on a dictionary, but the prospect of
allowing easy mutation of fundamental built-ins is quite negative in Python --
goes against the grain of the language.  A read-only dictionary might be OK.


Alex