[Python-Dev] slots, properties, descriptors, and pydoc

[Guido van Rossum]

> Ok.  Can anyone suggest an unobtrusive way to set docstrings on slots?
> 
> Perhaps this (but how could it be implemented?):
> 
>      class Foo(object):
>          __slots__ = docslots(
>              ('slot1': 'description'),
>              ('slot2':
>                  """description
>                  ...continued
>                  """),
>              'slot3',
>          )

Anything can be done using metaclasses.  __slots__ is not special
once the class exists -- it is a set of instructions for the default
metaclass to create a specific set of descriptors (and associated
storage).  Another metaclass could use a different convention
(although it may have to set __slots__ to let the base metaclass
create the associated storage slots).

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