instance.attribute lookup

[Ethan Furman]

Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> On Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:39:53 -0700, Ethan Furman wrote:
> 
>> There is a StackOverflow question [1] that points to this on-line book
>> [2] which has a five-step sequence for looking up attributes:
>>
>>  > When retrieving an attribute from an object (print
>>  > objectname.attrname) Python follows these steps:
>>  >
>>  > 1. If attrname is a special (i.e. Python-provided) attribute for
>>  > objectname, return it.
> [...]
>> I'm thinking step 1 is flat-out wrong and doesn't exist.  Does anybody
>> know otherwise?
> 
> I'm thinking I don't even understand what step 1 means.
> 
> What's a Python-provided attribute, and how is it different from other 
> attributes?

Well, if /you/ don't understand it I feel a lot better about not 
understanding it either!  :)

Glad to know I'm not missing something (besides ESP, a crystal ball, and 
a mind-reader!)

~Ethan~