[Python-Dev] Puzzling behavior when subclassing from float

[Guido van Rossum]

> Aplogies in advance if this is the wrong forum for this question.

It is, but because you're you, I don't mind.

You're missing that besides __init__, new-style classes also have a
lower-level constructor, __new__.  This is called before __init__.
For immutable objects, __new__ is where the action is.  Read about it
in http://www.python.org/2.2.1/descrintro.html

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)