Method returning new instance of class?

[Arthur]

On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 22:29:15 +0200, "Martin v. Löwis"
<martin at v.loewis.de> wrote:

>Arthur wrote:
>> """The copy module does not use the copy_reg registration module.""" 
>> 
>> This is actually pretty esoteric stuff for someone who has not delved
>> into these mysteries before, so I am a bit lost.
>
>It appears that this documentation is incorrect.

I knew that that was one of the possibilities.  On the other hand I
wouldn't have bet much on it.  An equally live possiblity was that  I
was misunderstanding correct documentation  - considering this is all
a bit foggy to me at the moment.

Thanks for making that much clear.

> Just look at the
>source of copy.py and see for yourself:
>
>from copy_reg import dispatch_table
>...
>
>def copy(x):
>     ...
>     reductor = dispatch_table.get(cls)
>     ...
>
>> Is it that copy_reg comes into play in defining a custom method for
>> copying, that is called as a regular method, and not via the copy
>> module?
>
>It is a customization of the copy module.
>
>> Does anyone have a reference for copy_reg used in the specific context
>> of copying, rather than pickling?
>
>Sure: Assume you want to copy file objects, and that this should create
>a file object for the same file name and mode, but starting from the
>beginning. You do
>
>def copy_file(f):
>   return file, (f.name, f.mode)
>copy_reg.pickle(file, copy_file, file)
>
>Then you can do
>
> >>> f=open("/etc/passwd","r")
> >>> f
><open file '/etc/passwd', mode 'r' at 0x401f7760>
> >>> f.readline()
>'root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash\n'
> >>> g=copy.copy(f)
> >>> g
><open file '/etc/passwd', mode 'r' at 0x401f7060>
> >>> g.readline()
>'root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash\n'

And thanks for that.  Which among other things seems to tell me that I
can in fact follow the documentation, and what else I can find, on
copy_reg and pickling pretty much verbatim, when focusing on copying
as my end result.  Wasn't sure, among other things, whether the same
copy_reg.pickle(xx) syntax applied to copying application.   Aparently
yes.

Art