[Tutor] copy(): another 'str' object is not callable???

[Don Arnold]

----- Original Message -----
From: <pan@uchicago.edu>
To: <tutor@python.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2003 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: [Tutor] copy(): another 'str' object is not callable???


> Ok folks, here's another "'str' object is not callable" question.
> This time it happens in the copy module. See below:
>
>
>    '''
>     >>> class aclass:
>     ... def __init__(self): self.aValue='a value'
>     ... def __getattr__(self, name):
>     ... return self.aValue
>     ... def copy(self):
>     ... return copy.deepcopy(self)
>     ...
>     >>> a = aclass()
>     >>> b = a.copy()
>     Traceback (most recent call last):
>       File "<interactive input>", line 1, in ?
>       File "<interactive input>", line 10, in copy
>       File "E:\Program Files\prog\lang\py\ActivePython\lib\copy.py", line
179,
> in deepcopy
>         y = copierfunction(x, memo)
>       File "E:\Program Files\prog\lang\py\ActivePython\lib\copy.py", line
262,
> in _deepcopy_inst
>         return x.__deepcopy__(memo)
>     TypeError: 'str' object is not callable
>     '''
>
> What's wrong with the above code?
>
> I did a little test and found, again, that this error came
> from the '__getattr__'. If it is removed then the copy function
> works.
>
> any help is appreciated.
> pan

This is the same problem you had before. By overriding __getattr__, the
lookup for the object's print method returns a string, which isn't callable.

HTH,
Don