Quesion about the proper use of __slots__

[Peter Otten]

bonono at gmail.com wrote:

> 
> Zefria wrote:
>> Well, my computer tends to run at about 497 to 501 out of 504 MB of RAM
>> used once I start up Gnome, XMMS, and a few Firefox tabs, and I'd
>> prefer not to see things slipping into Swap space if I can avoid it,
>> and the fighter data would be only part of a larger program.
>>
>> And as I said, learning how to use __slots__ is important enough to
>> hazard a premature guess this time around. If I mess up, the worst that
>> happens is that I have to write down a new variable name in two places
>> instead of one now.
> 
> For this particular setup, I don't think it would be a concern given
> your mentioned size as you are very unlikely to be actively using all
> the apps at the same time and linux is quite efficient in handling it.
> 
> However, I don't think attempting to use __slots__ in this case is bad
> either. Afterall, one of the strength of python is allowing you to
> quickly test out different approachs.

Yes, something like

import sys

class Fighter(object):
    if "--use-slots" in sys.argv:
        __slots__ = [...]


and then comparing

$ python fighters.py

with

$ python fighters.py --use-slots

might be instructive. I don't think the OP will perceive a difference. 

> He could be working on a machine with < 1M RAM or some other
> constraints.

I have 256K, by the way.

Peter