Correct type for a simple "bag of attributes" namespace object (was: 3 Suggestions to Make Python Easier For Children)

[Ian Kelly]

On Sat, Aug 2, 2014 at 2:46 PM, Mark Summerfield <list at qtrac.plus.com> wrote:
> On Saturday, 2 August 2014 20:58:59 UTC+1, Ben Finney  wrote:
>> Steven D'Aprano writes:
>>
>> > If you need instances which carry state, then object is the wrong
>> > class.
>
> Fair enough.
>
>> Right. The 'types' module provides a SimpleNamespace class for the
>> common "bag of attributes" use case::
>>
>>     >>> import types
>>     >>> foo = types.SimpleNamespace()
>>     >>> foo.x = 3
>>     >>> foo
>>     namespace(x=3)
>
> This is too much for children (& beginners).
>
> But perhaps what I should be asking for is for a new built-in that does what types.SimpleNamespace() does, so that without any import you can write, say,
>
> foo = namespace(a=1, b=2)
> # or
> bar = namespace()
> bar.a = 1
>
> where under the hood namespace has the same behavior as types.SimpleNamespace().
>
> Naturally, I understand that adding a new name is a big deal and may be too much to ask for beginners.

from types import SimpleNamespace as namespace

Just have them put that at the top of each file, and tell them not to
worry about what it does.