Is this a case for metaclasses?

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Hartmut Goebel <h.goebel at goebel-consult.de> wrote in message news:<411207dd$0$7323$9b4e6d93 at newsread2.arcor-online.net>...
> Hi,
> 
> I'm currently implementing a tool for auto-generating webforms from a 
> desription file. The output should become a php-script, an asp-script, 
> zope-formulator or such. Each if it may (or may not) have javascript 
> additions. The output format should be defined ar runtime (php, 
> php+javascrip, asp, asp+javascript, etc.).
> 
> Currently I have a fixed class hierarchy:
> 
>    generic    : implements generic html widgets (input, radiobuttons)
>    php        : "mixin" for adding php-specifi code to the widget,
>                 eg. getting values from HTTP_POST_VARS/_POST
>    javascript : adds javascript scripts, eg. error checking
> 
> Obviously this does not scale as soon as I add more mid-layers (asp, 
> psp, etc.).
> 
> For me this sounds like I could benefit from using metaclasses here. 
> Before I start implementing such a beast, I want to be shure, there will 
> be a benefit.
> 
> Any suggestions?

Metaclasses are essentially syntactic sugar. You can do more or less
everything without them. For instance you can use a poor man function
to
format your classes as you wish. Then, you have to apply the function
to the every subclass by hand. If you use a metaclass, subclasses are
automatically reformatted, instead. So, using a function means
a bit more typing but greater expliciteness. Metaclasses are okay
if you want to hide to your users the fact that something magic is 
going on.


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