Private attribute

[Ken Starks]

Steven D'Aprano wrote:

<snip>

> 
> def SomeClass(object):
>     _gridsize = 0.8
> 
> 
> The leading underscore tells callers that they change the attribute at 
> their own risk.
> 
> An even more Pythonic approach is to write your class that makes no 
> assumptions about gridsize, and thus explicitly supports any reasonable 
> grid size. 
> 

The parent class, makes no assumption about grid-size, and I have put
a great deal of functionality there.

The methods of the derived class that depend on a gridsize of 8mm are
mostly concerned with standard LaTeX glyphs (from a specific font)
at standard LaTeX sizes.

I am fitting a small subset of them into my grid by hand, in a
way that I don't think could be easily automated even if I use the 
metric information. Not impossible, just too much hastle.

The general rationale of the project is 'pen-and-ink' algorithms
for arithmetic, on quadrille paper. It is to create figures that
will be imported into LaTeX later.

(By the way, it is perfectly easy to re-scale the figure after
the digits, carry-figures, and other glyphs are placed. So long
as you don't mind the font-size within the figure to
be out of kilter with the font-size of the main run of
LaTeX text.)

I hope this explains why I have decided on a Read-only attribute, the
first one ever, apart from a quick try-out when I started with Python.
And that was when Guido was still in Amsterdam.