"Joseph Maurer" wrote in message news:844399.5421.qm@web58901.mail.re1.yahoo.com... | I'd like to see the reload feature of Python enhanced so it can replace the methods for existing class instances, references to methods, and references to functions. I think would we could get farther by restricting concern to replacing class attributes so that existing class instances would use their new definitions. As I understand, the problem is this. After somemod is imported, 'import somemod' simply binds 'somemod' to the existing module object, while 'reload somemod' replaces the module object with a new object with all new contents, while references to objects within the old module object remain as are. So I propose this. 'Reclass somemod' (by whatever syntax) would execute the corresponding code in a new namespace (dict). But instead of making that dict the __dict__ attribute of a new module, reclass would match class names with the existing __dict__, and replace the class.__dict__ attributes, so that subsequent access to class attributes, including particularly methods, would get the new versions. In other words use the existing indirection involved in attribute access. New classes could simple be added. Deleted classes could be disabled, but this really requires a restart after editing files that reference such classes, so deleting classes should not be done for the restricted reload uses this idea is aimed at. It would probably be possible to modify function objects (replace func_code, etc), but this is more difficult. It is simpler, at least for a beginning, to require that functions be put within a class when reclassing is anticipated. Terry Jan Reedy

On 9/29/07, Joseph Maurer wrote:

I'd like to see the reload feature of Python enhanced so it can replace the methods for existing class instances, references to methods, and references to functions.

Guido did some work on this (as xreload) for Py3K, but gave up for the moment. In the meantime, you can sometimes get a bit closer with indirection. Instead of from othermod import anobject # won't notice if anobject is replaced later use import othermod ... othermod.anobject # always looks up the current anobject That said, subclasses and existing instances generally don't use indirection, because it is slower; replacing bound methods will almost certainly always require at least the moral equivalanent of reloading the dialog after reloading the module. -jJ