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The Zen of Python distils the guiding principles for Python into 20 aphorisms but lists only 19. What's the twentieth?

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python

From PEP 20, The Zen of Python:

Long time Pythoneer Tim Peters succinctly channels the BDFL's guiding principles for Python's design into 20 aphorisms, only 19 of which have been written down.

What is this twentieth aphorism? Does it exist, or is the reference merely a rhetorical device to make the reader think?

(One potential answer that occurs to me is that "You aren't going to need it" is the remaining aphorism. If that were the case, it would both exist and act to make the reader think, and it would be characteristically playful, thus fitting the list all the better. But web searches suggest this to be an extreme programming mantra, not intrinsically Pythonic wisdom, so I'm stumped.)

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Jeff Walden Avatar asked Dec 21 '10 22:12

Jeff Walden


People also ask

What is the 20th aphorism of the Zen of Python?

I suggest that it is PEP 20. Very zen. Show activity on this post. 20: "You must discover this for yourself, grasshopper."

What are pythons guiding principles for?

The Zen of Python is a collection of 19 "guiding principles" for writing computer programs that influence the design of the Python programming language. Software engineer Tim Peters wrote this set of principles and posted it on the Python mailing list in 1999.

What is the 5th aphorism of the Zen of Python?

Errors should never pass silently. Unless explicitly silenced. In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.

What Pep number pertains to Zen of Python?

PEP 20 – The Zen of Python.


2 Answers

I had the opportunity to ask Guido about this recently. According to him, this is "some bizarre Tim Peters in-joke". That, and/or (still according to him) it's an opportunity for people to provide their own addition (as largely is happening in the answers to this question :-) ).

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Jeff Walden Avatar answered Oct 05 '22 18:10

Jeff Walden


It has to be SIGNIFICANT WHITESPACE, of course!

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Geoffrey Avatar answered Oct 05 '22 19:10

Geoffrey