sufficiently pythonic code for testing type of function

[Theerasak Photha]

On 10/11/06, Ben Finney <bignose+hates-spam at benfinney.id.au> wrote:
> "Theerasak Photha" <hanumizzle at gmail.com> writes:

> Far better is to take the objects passed, *use* them in the way that
> you need to use them, and catch exceptions that get raised at the
> point where there is enough context to handle them. This is the
> "Easier to Ask Forgiveness than Permission" (EAFP) principle, and it
> is considered to be far more Pythonic.

Again, someone asked me to write the code for him in a personal
response to a previous thread. I simply executed his wishes (albeit
poorly).

I knew about EAFP before Python; in Ruby we have 'duck typing' and
there's a whole chapter about its virtues in Pick Axe. Myself I am a
strong proponent of this method, also known in OO Perl lingo, which I
know well, as interface polymorphism (Conway).

The main reason I *didn't* grok isinstance was b/c I never really
thought to use it before... :)

-- Theerasak