[Python-Dev] PEP 435 - ref impl disc 2

[Barry Warsaw]

On May 06, 2013, at 02:51 PM, Nick Coghlan wrote:

>Enums are the same - they carve out a subtree in the type hierarchy
>that *doesn't* behave the same as the standard tree anchored directly
>on type. This *is* going to cause conflicts with meta-tools that only
>handle ordinary types - the trick is that the cause of the problem (a
>custom metaclass) is also the solution (a custom metaclass derived
>from enum.enum_type).

Agreed.  When the time is right, I think we should consider implementation
details that allow for useful flexibility.  An example would be the
prohibition on extension through subclassing.  I'm perfectly willing to accept
that as the standard behavior on stdlib Enums, but I'd like to be able to
override this with my own custom metaclass subclass.  I think it could be done
quite easily with the right refactoring of the implementation, although there
would be some discussion around what is blessed private API and what is
YOYO[1] API.

-Barry

[1] You're own your own.