Overloading __init__ & Function overloading

[John J. Lee]

Paul Rubin <"http://phr.cx"@NOSPAM.invalid> writes:

> "Iyer, Prasad C" <prasad.c.iyer at capgemini.com> writes:
> > But I want to do something like this
> > 
> > class BaseClass:
> > 	def __init__(self):
> > 		# Some code over here
> > 	def __init__(self, a, b):
> > 		# Some code over here
> > 	def __init__(self, a, b, c):
> > 		# some code here
> 
> You can only use one __init__ method.  You'd have it count the args:
> 
> class BaseClass:
>   def __init__(self, *args):
>      if len(args) == 2:
>         a, b = args
>         # some code
>      elif len(args) == 3:
>         a, b, c = args
>         # more code

Weeellll... more readably, you can use:

 1. Named arguments (aka "keywords arguments" -- though a keyword arg
    isn't a keyword, of course...)

 2. Factory (class methods) (I'm using those parentheses around "class
    methods" for precedence, not annotation -- unlike here ;-)

 3. Plain old factory methods

 4. Factory "functions" implemented as classes with a __call__ method

 5. Factory classes with named factory methods (perhaps even class
    methods)

 6. Plain old factory functions


It's all terribly restrictive, as you can see <wink>

(Yes, I know the OP used the same name to call all the constructors in
his examples -- but that's just an expectation carried over from other
languages)


John