[Python-Dev] Re: Re: Call for defense of @decorators

[Skip Montanaro]

    >> I think "adorn" would make a better keyword in that case, as in
    >> "adorn with" this decorator the method foo.

    Bob> I don't think that's appropriate at all.  Most decorators are
    Bob> transformations that change the function object into something else
    Bob> entirely, most likely by wrapping it but quite possibly not.

Correctamundo.  In fact, there's no need that the decorator return a
function (or callable) object at all.  You could define a function to
compute a lookup table of some sort.  The decorator might simply invoke the
function and return its value.  Perfectly legal.  Slightly more than
adornment.  Somewhat silly example:

    def define(func):
        return func()

    @ define
    def grayscale():
        table = []
        for i in range(256):
            table.append((i,i,i))
        return table

Skip