[Python-Dev] [numpy wishlist] Interpreter support for temporary elision in third-party classes

[Sturla Molden]

Greg Ewing <greg.ewing at canterbury.ac.nz> wrote:
> Julian Taylor wrote:
>> tp_can_elide receives two objects and returns one of three values:
>> * can work inplace, operation is associative
>> * can work inplace but not associative
>> * cannot work inplace
> 
> Does it really need to be that complicated? Isn't it
> sufficient just to ask the object potentially being
> overwritten whether it's okay to overwrite it?

How can it know this without help from the interpreter? 

Sturla