[Python-Dev] Requesting that a class be a new-style class

[Jack Diederich]

On Sun, Feb 20, 2005 at 12:13:25PM +1000, Nick Coghlan wrote:
> Guido van Rossum wrote:
> >>>This is something I've typed way too many times:
> >>>
> >>>Py> class C():
> >>>  File "<stdin>", line 1
> >>>    class C():
> >>>            ^
> >>>SyntaxError: invalid syntax
> >>>
> >>>It's the asymmetry with functions that gets to me - defining a
> >>>function with no arguments still requires parentheses in the
> >>>definition statement, but defining a class with no bases requires the
> >>>parentheses to be omitted.
> >
> >
> >It's fine to fix this in 2.5. I guess I can add this to my list of
> >early oopsies -- although to the very bottom. :-)
> >
> >It's *not* fine to make C() mean C(object). (We already have enough
> >other ways to declaring new-style classes.)
> >
> 
> Fair enough - the magnitude of the semantic difference between "class C:" 
> and "class C():" bothered me a little, too. I'll just have to remember that 
> I can put "__metaclass__ == type" at the top of modules :)

I always use new style classes so I only have to remember one set of behaviors.
"__metaclass__ = type" is warty, it has the "action at a distance" problem that 
decorators solve for functions.  I didn't dig into the C but does having 'type' 
as metaclass guarantee the same behavior as inheriting 'object' or does object 
provide something type doesn't?  *wince*

Py3k? Faster please[*].

-Jack

* a US-ism of a conservative bent, loosely translated as "change for the
  better? I'll get behind that."