Argh! Who thought Black should be automatically applied to lines in the IPython CLI?
The makes it less useful for education purposes, less useful for interactive math, and annoying when it rewrites your input across multiple lines.
The makes it less useful for education purposes, less useful for interactive math, and annoying when it rewrites your input across multiple lines.
In a #Python course, if you want to demonstrate that print('hello') and print("hello") are the same, then too bad. The CLI rewrites both to use double quotes and the students can't see what you were demonstrating.
When doing math, you improve readability by grouping your terms as shown in PEP 8:
3*x**2 - 5*x + 10
However, the new #Ipython CLI immediately expands it to:
3 * x ** 2 - 5 * x + 10
3*x**2 - 5*x + 10
However, the new #Ipython CLI immediately expands it to:
3 * x ** 2 - 5 * x + 10
Black's quotation rewrites are especially distracting in a REPL where it clearly conflicts the language's internal preferences:
In [11]: {"x": 10}
Out[11]: {'x': 10}
In [11]: {"x": 10}
Out[11]: {'x': 10}
For teaching purposes, it is especially annoying to have in-line comments smushed to two spaces after the code ends. And more so, when it splits your input lines.
if n == 0: return 0 # 1st known case
if n == 1: return 1 # 2nd known case
return n * fact(n-1) # Recurse
if n == 0: return 0 # 1st known case
if n == 1: return 1 # 2nd known case
return n * fact(n-1) # Recurse
It's no longer possible to show students how to use the semicolon to separate statements:
>>> time.sleep(5); print("Done")
In #IPython, this gets rewritten to:
In [15]: sleep(5)
...: print("Done")
Done
>>> time.sleep(5); print("Done")
In #IPython, this gets rewritten to:
In [15]: sleep(5)
...: print("Done")
Done
Yes, this can be turned off, but you have to get a whole classroom of mixed Windows, Mac, and Linux users to monkey through the steps to get back to a normal environment where you can see what you typed into the computer rather than what it wanted you to type.
Even if you usually like how Black formats your scripts and modules, why would you ever do this line by line in a CLI?
It wasn't long ago that IDLE became unusable for teaching. And now IPython decides to rewrite my inputs so that students never see what I actually typed.
Argh!!!
Argh!!!
Note that #SymPy does the right thing here:
>>> from sympy import var
>>> var('x')
x
>>> ((3*x + 5) * (2*x - 4)).expand()
6*x**2 - 2*x - 20
>>> from sympy import var
>>> var('x')
x
>>> ((3*x + 5) * (2*x - 4)).expand()
6*x**2 - 2*x - 20
I'm not sure what to say to defuse this thread.
Black is good product. IPython is a good tool. The people involved are good developers.
Ideally, let's focus on the problem rather the people. The main thread identifies five specific usability problems. That's what we care about.
Black is good product. IPython is a good tool. The people involved are good developers.
Ideally, let's focus on the problem rather the people. The main thread identifies five specific usability problems. That's what we care about.
The original PR had 32 downvotes but was pushed despite opposition from those aware of the impending change. Unfortunately, they didn't give examples so it may have been easy to dismiss their concerns.
github.com/ipython/ipytho…
github.com/ipython/ipytho…
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