[Zope-dev] Infuriating ZClass registry Heisenbug

[Guido van Rossum]

> The nice thing about fixing this bug is that the code continues to be
> improved.  The last round of beautification made the code
> substantially more readable.  This was a direct result of trying to
> track down a reference count problem.  The problem proved to be
> elsewhere, but it was nearly impossible for me to inspect the old
> coptimizations.c code to figure out if the problem was there.
> 
> If we make the code easier to read, we reduce the burden we all share
> more keeping the software working.  Inscrutable code hides subtle bugs
> and encourages work arounds that make the whole system harder to
> understand.

+1.

Remember the XP dogma: refactor mercilessly.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)