Re: None

jredford@lehman.com
Mon, 25 Apr 94 16:59:22 -0400

>> OTOH, None is very often used now as a kind of "null pointer", and from
>> that viewpoint it's a feature that using the None object in most contexts
>> reliably triggers a runtime error. E.g., in your scenario I would like
>> to reserve a None return value to mean something like "I know I usually
>> return a list, but in this case I just can't, and you're really screwed
>> if you called me believing this wasn't a possibility".
>>
>> So if None didn't exist, we'd have to invent it <wink>.

Well, I dont think I can wholy agree with this. None is not as nothing
as it could be. It can be used in value comparisons without error.

If you have a function that normally returns a list, then you should
likely be raising an exception, not suddenly returning None.

I'd like to see every operation involving None fail.

--
John Redford (AKA GArrow) | 3,600 hours of tape.
jredford@lehman.com       | 5 cans of Scotchguard.