why is there no class (static) methods in Python ?

[Martin von Loewis]

Richard Gruet <rgruet at intraware.com> writes:

> I  (and other people on the Python french mail list) wonder  why there
> are no class (static) methods in Python. You cannot define a really
> unbounded (ie to an instance) method within the namespace of a class.

First of all, you *can* define such a thing if you absolutely want, see

http://www.python.org/doc/FAQ.html#4.84

> It's not natural nor elegant to have to create an instance to call a
> method which is not related to a particular instance. We would like to
> be able to write things like:
> 
> class C:
>     def staticFoo(x): print x
> 
> C.staticFoo(1)

I'd like to question why you want to do this. Isn't it much better to write

class C:
  pass

def staticFoo(x):
  print x

I.e. what has class C to do with staticFoo?

Regards,
Martin