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classification
Title: Make operator.itemgetter/attrgetter/methodcaller easier to discover
Type: Stage:
Components: Documentation Versions: Python 3.2
process
Status: closed Resolution: fixed
Dependencies: Superseder:
Assigned To: rhettinger Nosy List: docs@python, ncoghlan, rhettinger, stutzbach
Priority: normal Keywords:

Created on 2010-09-17 12:13 by ncoghlan, last changed 2022-04-11 14:57 by admin. This issue is now closed.

Messages (2)
msg116658 - (view) Author: Nick Coghlan (ncoghlan) * (Python committer) Date: 2010-09-17 12:13
The observation has been made that there are some idioms related to key functions passed to various methods and functions that aren't particularly easy to discover.

One suggestion is to create a "key function" glossary entry that provides examples of standard library operations that exist primarily for use as key functions (i.e. the three functions mentioned in the issue title), as well as mentioning some of the APIs that accept key functions (e.g. sorted, list.sort, min, max). The documentation of these various could then cross link to the "key function" glossary entry to make this idioms more discoverable without needing to repeat ourselves in the documentation of every method that accepts a key function.

As per discussion on python-ideas, including the glossary entry suggestion from Terry Reedy:
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-ideas/2010-September/008093.html
msg120095 - (view) Author: Raymond Hettinger (rhettinger) * (Python committer) Date: 2010-10-31 22:36
Fixed.  See r86073.
History
Date User Action Args
2022-04-11 14:57:06adminsetgithub: 54095
2010-10-31 22:36:25rhettingersetstatus: open -> closed
resolution: fixed
messages: + msg120095
2010-09-17 18:26:02rhettingersetassignee: docs@python -> rhettinger

nosy: + rhettinger
2010-09-17 12:39:25stutzbachsetnosy: + stutzbach
2010-09-17 12:13:24ncoghlancreate