2017-09-11 19:00 GMT+02:00 Chris Barker <chris.barker@noaa.gov>:
I wish there were a property feature available almost very time I encounter a "get*" method in the stdlib (or any where):
There are a heck of a lot in the os module:
In [4]: [s for s in dir(os) if s.startswith('get')] Out[4]:
['get_blocking',
This one is not a good example: it takes a parameter. You cannot convert it to a property.
'getcwd',
And just yesterday I was getting annoyed by some in sysconfig:
In [6]: [s for s in dir(sysconfig) if s.startswith('get')] Out[6]:
['get_config_h_filename', 'get_config_var', 'get_config_vars', 'get_makefile_filename', 'get_path', 'get_path_names', 'get_paths', 'get_platform', 'get_python_version', 'get_scheme_names']
When designing an API, when I have to choose between property and function/method, I prefer function/method over a property when the code is slow, especially at the first call. I prefer to "warn" users than a call (like the first one which fills a cache) can be slow. Well, it's not a strong rule, sometimes I use a property even if the first call has to fill a cache :-) Here the sysconfig has to build an internal cache at the first call ... if I recall correctly. Victor