Override a method but inherit the docstring

[Ben Finney]

Howdy all,

The following is a common idiom::

    class FooGonk(object):
        def frobnicate(self):
            """ Frobnicate this gonk. """
            basic_implementation(self.wobble)

    class BarGonk(FooGonk):
        def frobnicate(self):
            special_implementation(self.warble)

The docstring for ‘FooGonk.frobnicate’ is, intentionally, perfectly
applicable to the ‘BarGonk.frobnicate’ method also. Yet in overriding
the method, the original docstring is not associated with it.

Ideally there would be a way to specify that the docstring should be
inherited. The best I can come up with is::

    class BarGonk(FooGonk):
        def frobnicate(self):
            special_implementation(self.warble)
        frobnicate.__doc__ = FooGonk.frobnicate.__doc__

but that violates DRY (the association between BarGonk and FooGonk is
being repeated), puts the docstring assignment awkwardly after the end
of the method instead of at the beginning where docstrings normally go,
and reads poorly besides.

What is the most Pythonic, DRY-adherent, and preferably least-ugly
approach to override a method, but have the same docstring on both
methods?

-- 
 \           “Why, I'd horse-whip you if I had a horse.” —Groucho Marx |
  `\                                                                   |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney