[Python-Dev] @decoration of classes

[Michael Chermside]

Josiah Carlson writes:

     [... stuff about reST and TeX ...]
> While I have not used it often, I have done the equivalent of decorating
> classes; it is as natural (though perhaps not quite as useful initially)
> as decorating functions,
     [... stuff about ice cream and sprinkles ...]

Hmm... the only bit that I found particularly interesting there was the bit
where you mention that you've used class decorators (without the syntax)
before.

What did you use them for? After all, the current state of things is "don't
bother implementing class decorators because there is no compelling use
case". If you've got some sample use cases, what were they?



For my own part, I observe the following. Because a function decorator
acts after the function object is created, there are limits to what it
can do to the function. It can add some markup (eg: set properties or
doc strings). It can "hook" either before or after the function is
called. Or it can "veto" the function call and do something else
instead. In the case of function calls, these are pretty much the
interesting things you would want to do.

Similarly, because a class decorator acts after the class is created
there are limits on what it can do. It can modify the class object
(replacing methods and such). It can add markup. It can replace the
class with another (perhaps a proxy or some such). But most of these
are things which are more easily done by a metaclass... and all of
them *can* be done by metaclasses. The only noticable advantage that
I see to class decorators over metaclasses is that there's a more
straightforward way to combine them. And I'm not sure that combining
metaclasses (or class decorators) is something I want to encourage.

So I'm inclined to use different tools for modifying functions and
modifying classes because the ways you want to modify them are
different, and decorators are "tuned" to what people normally want
to do with functions (like simple wrapping) while metaclasses are
"tuned" to what people normally want to do with classes (like support
for inheritance.


But a few *good* use cases would change my mind.

-- Michael Chermside