[Python-ideas] Dict-like object with property access

[Steven D'Aprano]

Nick Coghlan wrote:

> *Outside* the standard library, it's "practicality beats purity" that
> wins. People *like* being able to type ".attr" instead of "['attr']"
> when a field name happens to be a legal identifier.

Yes, but people like all sorts of things that aren't good for them, and while 
Python can and does allow people to shoot themselves in the foot, I don't 
think we should be providing a standard foot-shooting class :)

As I see it, x.name is best used for attributes of the object, which typically 
means that (1) in some sense, they are inherently part of the object; (2) they 
come from a relatively small enumerated set of names which is usually fixed; 
and (3) you are very unlikely to be added or deleting them from an object 
(usually a static set rather than dynamic).

x['name'] is for the opposite cases:

(1) the key/value pairs are not inherently part of the object, but in some 
sense are possessions of the object; (2) they come from a potentially 
arbitrarily large set of names which could grow indefinitely large; and (3) 
are usually dynamic rather than static.

In my experience, there are very few use-cases which fall between those two 
extremes and don't see the need for a standard Javascript-like dotted-access 
dict. But I think the first place to put one would be a recipe on (say) 
ActiveState's cookbook, and see what sort of feedback and use it gets.



-- 
Steven