Use serial comma in 'natural_list' output by default, and allow optional omission

[bignose-debian]

The 'natural_list' behaviour hard-codes the omission of serial comma in the formatted output.

To reduce ambiguity in the normal case, the serial comma should be default.

Expected:

>>> humanize.natural_list([1, 2, 3, 4, 5])
'1, 2, 3, 4, and 5'

To allow the caller to choose the non-default omission of serial comma, a keyword-only parameter should be added to specify this.

Expected:

>>> humanize.natural_list([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], serial_comma=True)
'1, 2, 3, 4, and 5'
>>> humanize.natural_list([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], serial_comma=False)
'1, 2, 3, 4 and 5'

(The “serial comma” is sometimes known as the “Oxford comma”.)

[bignose-debian]

In my personal fork repository I have created a branch /wip/issue/211/natural-list-serial-comma that addresses this issue.

The change that implements this is the head of that branch, with preceding commits that re-factor the code to prepare for that change.

The branch includes test cases, and currently merges cleanly to 'main' branch.

[hugovk]

Do you need this and intend to use it, or are you just adding it for completeness?

Let's not change the default, that's a breaking change.

Do you want to open a PR here on GitHub?

[bignose-debian]

On 05-Oct-2024, Hugo van Kemenade wrote: Do you need this and intend to use it, or are you just adding it for completeness?

I find the ‘humanize’ library useful, and yes I would use this with the correct function signature.

Let's not change the default, that's a breaking change.

My intention is to have the default set now, because I believe it was incorrectly set (and without consideration of the serial comma). In favour of the serial comma is that it significantly reduces ambiguity, which is a Python design principle ;-)

Do you want to open a PR here on GitHub?

The patches can be applied directly by Git, or you can merge from my fork repository <URL: https://git.sr.ht/~bignose/python-humanize/> as a remote. Git is designed to use multiple remotes, here are GitHub's instructions on working with remote repositories: <URL: https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/getting-started-with-git/about-remote-repositories>

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[hugovk]

My intention is to have the default set now, because I believe it was incorrectly set (and without consideration of the serial comma).

I considered it:

We could also have an input parameter to choose whether to use Oxford commas (a, b, and c) or AP style (a, b and c). And maybe to also change the "and" to "or" or something else. But let's defer those for followups if there's actual demand for it.

#103 (comment)

Both the issue and PR were open for ~18 months and no-one requested it.

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The patches can be applied directly by Git, or you can merge from my fork repository <URL: https://git.sr.ht/~bignose/python-humanize/> as a remote.

Sure, but it's not just about Git. I don't want to apply it directly without running the CI or reviewing it here.

[bignose-debian]

On 06-Oct-2024, Hugo van Kemenade wrote: Both the issue and PR were open for ~18 months and no-one requested it.

Sorry for that. I think, like a lot of people, we were observing releases, not unresolved merge requests.

> The patches can be applied directly by Git, or you can merge from my > fork repository <URL: https://git.sr.ht/~bignose/python-humanize/> as a > remote. Sure, but it's not just about Git. I don't want to apply it directly without running the CI or reviewing it here.

Okay. It's unfortunate that GitHub makes those functions proprietary, because it means people who don't host their code on GitHub can't participate in those functions. You have the remote Git repository, and the patches for merge, I'll leave it to your discretion what happens inside the walls of GitHub.

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-- \ “A hundred times every day I remind myself that […] I must | `\ exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have | _o__) received and am still receiving” —Albert Einstein | Ben Finney ***@***.***>