[Tutor] is it legal to have a class within a def

[johnf]

On Thursday 03 January 2008 10:13:18 am Alan Gauld wrote:
> "johnf" <jfabiani at yolo.com> wrote
>
> > ....  If the user types in a partial of the key then the dialog
> > appears and the user picks from the list.  The details of the dialog
> > are
> > dynamic for each call (based on some meta data) of the showModal().
>
> This might be a valid case for defining the class in the function
> since
> it could be that the number of fields, the labels etc change depending
> on the input values. That is exactly the kind of place where a local
> class
> makes sense.
>
> > I am very interested in this possible difference between importing
> > the class
> > vs using the inline class.  Any thoughts as what the difference is
> > will help
> > me understand Python a little better.
>
> There is no great secret, its just that by putting the class
> definition
> into the function you have to execute the definition each time you
> execute the function. If you put the class in a module and import
> it then the class definition is executed at import time and thats it.
>
> But if you need to change the definition each time you instantiate the
> dialog you will have a very complex init method so you might find
> it easier to redefine the class each time instead.

Thanks for the response.  Having only a short period using python under my 
belt I find your type of help reassuring.

-- 
John Fabiani