[Python-Dev] Re: 2.4a2, and @decorators

[Jeremy Hylton]

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 09:46:55 -0400, Jim Fulton <jim at zope.com> wrote:
> Terry Reedy wrote:
> 
> ....
> 
> > Decorators will add complexity, regardless of syntax.
> 
> Especially in their current over-powered form.  If decorators didn't have to
> take arguments, then you could use a syntax like:
> 
>    def classmethod foo(cls, ...):
>        ...
> 
> This does add complexity, but I think it enhances understandability.
> 
> I understand why some people want to be able to pass arguments to decorators,
> but frankly, I find many of the examples of doing so down right scary.

I wonder if we should have add a note to the Python style guide that
forbids such things from the standard library <0.2 wink>.
 
>  > An advantage of the
> > @ syntax is than it makes the complexiity separable and ignorable for
> > someone learning/teaching basic Python,
> 
> I don't agree that they are ignorable.  People will see them in code
> and will *have* to understand what they mean.  Given sme examples
> I've seen here, this will sometimes be a significant chalenge.

It certainly depends on the use.  I don't think @classmethod will be
any more or less confusing than the current practice of calling foo =
staticmethod(foo) after the def.  I agree that more elaborate uses may
be confusing; then again, I suspect that more elaborate code will be
confusing regardless of how it uses decorators.

Jeremy