[Python-Dev] inconsistency when swapping obj.__dict__ with a dict-like object...

[Alex A. Naanou]

Hi!

here is a simple piece of code
<pre>
---cut---
class Dict(dict):
    def __init__(self, dct={}):
        self._dict = dct
    def __getitem__(self, name):
        return self._dct[name]
    def __setitem__(self, name, value):
        self._dct[name] = value
    def __delitem__(self, name):
        del self._dct[name]
    def __contains__(self, name):
        return name in self._dct
    def __iter__(self):
        return iter(self._dct)

class A(object):
    def __new__(cls, *p, **n):
        o = object.__new__(cls)
        o.__dict__ = Dict()
        return o

a = A()
a.xxx = 123
print a.__dict__._dict
a.__dict__._dict['yyy'] = 321
print a.yyy

--uncut--
</pre>

Here there are two problems, the first is minor, and it is that
anything assigned to the __dict__ attribute is checked to be a
descendant of the dict class (mixing this in does not seem to work)...
and the second problem is a real annoyance, it is that the mapping
protocol supported by the Dict object in the example above is not used
by the attribute access mechanics (the same thing that once happened
in exec)...

P.S. (IMHO) the type check here is not that necessary (at least in its
current state), as what we need to assert is not the relation to the
dict class but the support of the mapping protocol....

thanks.
-- 
Alex.