Should Python documentation for __class__ be improved?

[Olaf Delgado]

In article <MPG.1338953f2ec370a09896ab at news.nettally.com>,
	Tom Funk <_spam_sux_tdfunk at _spam_sux_nettally.com> writes:

> So, what __class__ *really* is, is: 
> 
>   o  a reference to where the class itself is imported 
>      into the current name space.  
>   o  that reference is callable and 
>   o  when called it creates a new instance of the class  
>      i.e., 
> 
>          c=Class(arg,...) 
> 
>       is the same as 
> 
>          c=self.__class__(arg,...)

Well, not quite, as Stefan pointed out.

Anyway, I don't see any mistery here. As pointed out by the docs,
classes, like almost anything else, are objects. A class object is
callable, and calling it creates a new instance of that class. Because
classes are just ordinary objects, you can pass them as arguments,
store them in attributes and so on.

> _Python Library Reference_
> 
>    "2.1.8 Special Attributes"
> 
>      __class__ 
> 
>         The class to which a class instance belongs. 

Now 'the class' is not anything like a name or description of a class,
but the class object itself as Python sees it.

I agree that this is pretty cool stuff. But after all, it's just
the way Python is wired, which _is_ pretty cool. :)

Olaf

-- 
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  Olaf  Delgado Friedrichs, Bielefeld, Germany
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