What does "Sparse is better than dense" mean? (Python Zen)

Alex Martelli wrote:

> No such official pronouncement for now on whether linebreak must always> come right after a colon (though I suspect I know where the BDFL's> sympathies lie on this, he hasn't gotten around to writing them down,> AFAIK, and surely not in PEP 8 so far -- good, gives us heretics-to-be> more time to prepare _our_ underground network...).

Examples without the intervening line break appear in PEP 8.

> Interestingly enough, I find I can live with everything that is> mandated in PEP 8 -- some recommendations are not my favorite ones,> but there's nothing really major in it that irks me.

It's hard to complain about a style guide that acknowledges up front that "A
Foolish Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds" and that furthermore
common sense may at times dictate breaking the rules.

--jb

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James J. Besemer  503-280-0838 voice
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