@decorator syntax is sugar, but for what exactly?

[Mark Bottjer]

Avner Ben wrote:
> Properties do not look like functions but are implemented as functions. 
> there is no requirement that a variable must hide behind a property, or 
> that it Must allow both read and write access.

Agreed. I was providing what I thought might be a common case. The fact 
that properties can distill functionality into something that looks like 
a variable is partly why they're so powerful.

>> [Ship]     property a:
>>       def __init__( s, v):
>>         __set__( s, v)
> 
> Why property constructor?

Why not? It's as good a way as any to give a variable-backed property an 
initial value. Setting it directly would break the encapsulation of the 
property.

> I recall reading somewhere That the Beta language allowed subclassing 
> anything

Yep. Because Beta has no classes, but rather works on a prototype 
system. Everything is an object. The "class" of an object is the 
interface it supports at that particular time. To create a new object, 
clone an existing one, and modify it to taste.

Seriously powerful. Seriously hard to keep track of. Neat language.

  -- Mark