On 28/06/2011 16:23, Terry Reedy wrote:
On 6/28/2011 7:51 AM, R. David Murray wrote:
Also, instances can have methods as instance attributes.
Functions that are instance attributes do not act like methods
(instance.func() does not automagically turn instance in the first arg
of func) and have never, to my knowledge, been called methods. In
Python 2, they are not wrapped as methods whereas functions attached
to classes are.
So-called 'staticmethods' are not really methods either, but are class
function attributes that are just functions and not treated as
methods. The decorator that negates normal method treatment
could/should have been called 'non_method'.
Using 'function' is its generic 'callable' sense ...
Method: a class function attribute that in its intended and normal use
automagically turns the object it is called on into its first arg.
'Method' is a useful and needed subcategory of class attribute
precisely because of this behavior.
Instance method: a class function attribute that is (normally) called
on instances of the class or subclasses.
So what is the difference between "Instance method" and "Method" above?
Is it just that "Method" is broader and includes class methods and bound
methods?
If anyone said "instance method" to me I would assume they meant bound
method. (A normal method fetched from an instance.)
All the best,
Michael
Class method: a class function attribute that is (normally) called on
the class or subclasses.
Bound method: a method that has already has the first-arg object
bundled with it, so that it can be used as a normal (partial or
curried) function.
Except for 'classmethod', which was added later, these have been the
meanings as I understood them since at least Py 1.4, 15 years ago, and
they are exactly what one needs to know to use Python. Any object can
be an attribute. However, function attributes of classes normally get
special 'method' treatment which alters the meaning of syntax.
--
http://www.voidspace.org.uk/
May you do good and not evil
May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others
May you share freely, never taking more than you give.
-- the sqlite blessing http://www.sqlite.org/different.html
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