Here's the current state of PEP 318. I have to take a break from this to
get some real work done and may not get back to it in a major way for
awhile. I received a significant rewrite of Kevin Smith's most recent
version from Jim Jewett and incorporated much of what he wrote, modifying a
lot of it along the way, but have still not digested everything he sent me.
I've tried to reflect the concensus which seems to be emerging on the
python-dev list, though I suspect I've done a poor job of that. The
discussions there and on comp.lang.python have ranged far and wide and thus
resist summary in a finite amount of time. I recommend interested
comp.lang.python readers spend some time in the python-dev archives for
February and March if they find major fault with the current state of the
proposal.
If you post corrections or comments to either list I should see them.
Skip Montanaro
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PEP: 318
Title: Function/Method Decorator Syntax
Version: $Revision: 1.5 $
Last-Modified: $Date: 2004/03/23 16:41:17 $
Author: Kevin D. Smith <Kevin.Smith at theMorgue.org>,
Jim Jewett <jimjjewett at users.sourceforge.net>,
Skip Montanaro <skip at pobox.com>
Status: Draft
Type: Standards Track
Content-Type: text/x-rst
Created: 05-Jun-2003
Python-Version: 2.4
Post-History: 09-Jun-2003, 10-Jun-2003, 27-Feb-2004, 23-Mar-2004
Abstract
========
The current method for declaring class and static methods is awkward
and can lead to code that is difficult to understand. Ideally, these
transformations should be made at the same point in the code where the
declaration itself is made. This PEP introduces new syntax for
transformations of a declaration.
Motivation
==========
The current method of applying a transformation to a function or
method places the actual translation after the function body. For
large functions this separates a key component of the function's
behavior from the definition of the rest of the function's external
interface. For example::
def foo(self):
perform method operation
foo = classmethod(foo)
This becomes less readable with longer methods. It also seems less
than pythonic to name the function three times for what is
conceptually a single declaration. A solution to this problem is to
move the transformation of the method closer to the method's own
declaration. While the new syntax is not yet final, the intent is to
replace::
def foo(cls):
pass
foo = synchronized(lock)(foo)
foo = classmethod(foo)
with an alternative that places the decoration in the function's
declaration::
def foo(cls) using [synchronized(lock), classmethod]:
pass
Background
==========
There is general agreement that syntactic support is desirable to the
current state of affairs. Guido mentioned `syntactic support for
decorators`_ in his DevDay keynote presentation at the `10th Python
Conference`_, though `he later said`_ it was only one of several
extensions he proposed there "semi-jokingly". `Michael Hudson raised
the topic`_ on ``python-dev`` shortly after the conference,
attributing the bracketed syntax to an earlier proposal on
``comp.lang.python`` by `Gareth
McCaughan`_.
.. _syntactic support for decorators: http://www.python.org/doc/essays/ppt/python10/py10keynote.pdf
.. _10th python conference: http://www.python.org/workshops/2002-02/
.. _michael hudson raised the topic: http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2002-February/020005.html
.. _he later said: http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2002-February/020017.html
.. _gareth mccaughan: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=slrna40k88.2h9o.Gareth.McCaughan%40g.local
Design Goals
============
The new syntax should
* work for arbitrary wrappers, including user-defined callables and
the existing builtins ``classmethod()`` and ``staticmethod``
* work with multiple wrappers per definition
* make it obvious what is happening; at the very least it should be
obvious that new users can safely ignore it when writing their own
code
* not make future extensions more difficult
* be easy to type; programs that use it are expected to use it very
frequently
* not make it more difficult to scan through code quickly. It should
still be easy to search for all definitions, a particular
definition, or the arguments that a function accepts
* not needlessly complicate secondary support tools such as
language-sensitive editors and other "`toy parser tools out
there`_"
.. _toy parser tools out there: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=mailman.1010809396.32158.python-list%40python.org
Proposed Syntax
===============
The currently proposed syntax is::
def func(arg1, arg2, ...) [dec1, dec2, ...]:
pass
The decorators are near the declaration of the function's API but are
clearly secondary. The square brackets make it possible to fairly
easily break long lists of decorators across multiple lines.
Alternate Proposals
===================
A few other syntaxes have been proposed::
def func(arg1, arg2, ...) as dec1, dec2, ...:
pass
The absence of brackets makes it cumbersome to break long lists of
decorators across multiple lines. The keyword "as" doesn't have the
same meaning as its use in the ``import`` statement.
::
def [dec1, dec2, ...] func(arg1, arg2, ...):
pass
This form has the disadvantage that the decorators become visually
higher priority than the function name and argument list.
::
def func [dec1, dec2, ...] (arg1, arg2, ...):
pass
Quixote's Page Template Language uses this form, but only supports a
single decorator chosen from a restricted set. For short lists it
works okay, but for long list it separates the argument list from the
function name.
::
using:
dec1
dec2
...
def foo(arg1, arg2, ...):
pass
The function definition is not nested within the using: block making
it impossible to tell which objects following the block will be
decorated. Nesting the function definition within the using: block
suggests block structure that doesn't exist. The name ``foo`` would
actually exist at the same scope as the using: block. Finally, it
would require the introduction of a new keyword.
Current Implementation
======================
Michael Hudson has posted a `patch`_ at Starship, which implements the
proposed syntax and left-first application of decorators::
def func(arg1, arg2, ...) [dec1, dec2]:
pass
is equivalent to::
def func(arg1, arg2, ...):
pass
func = dec2(dec1(func))
though without the intermediate creation of a variable named ``func``.
.. _patch: http://starship.python.net/crew/mwh/hacks/meth-syntax-sugar.diff
Examples
========
Much of the discussion on ``comp.lang.python`` and the ``python-dev``
mailing list focuses on the use of the ``staticmethod()`` and
``classmethod()`` builtins. This capability is much more powerful
than that. This section presents some examples of use.
1. Define a function to be executed at exit. Note that the function
isn't actually "wrapped" in the usual sense.
::
def onexit(f):
import atexit
atexit.register(f)
return f
def func() [onexit]:
...
2. Define a class with a singleton instance. Note that once the class
disappears enterprising programmers would have to be more creative
to create more instances. (From Shane Hathaway on ``python-dev``.)
::
def singleton(cls):
return cls()
class MyClass [singleton]:
...
3. Decorate a function with release information. (Based on an example
posted by Anders Munch on ``python-dev``.)
::
def release(**kwds):
def decorate(f):
for k in kwds:
setattr(f, k, kwds[k])
return f
return decorate
def classmethod(f) [release(versionadded="2.2",
author="Guido van Rossum")]:
...
4. Enforce function argument and return types.
::
def accepts(*types):
def check_accepts(f):
def new_f(*args, **kwds):
for (a, t) in zip(args, types):
assert isinstance(a, t), \
"arg %r does not match %s" % (a,t)
return f(*args, **kwds)
assert len(types) == f.func_code.co_argcount
return new_f
return check_accepts
def returns(rtype):
def check_returns(f):
def new_f(*args, **kwds):
result = f(*args, **kwds)
assert isinstance(result, rtype), \
"return value %r does not match %s" % (result,rtype)
return result
return new_f
return check_returns
def func(arg1, arg2) [accepts(int, (int,float)),
returns((int,float))]:
return arg1 * arg2
Of course, all these examples are possible today, though without the
syntactic support.
Possible Extensions
===================
The proposed syntax is general enough that it could be used on class
definitions as well::
class foo(object) [dec1, dec2, ...]:
class definition here
Use would likely be much less than function decorators. The current
patch only implements function decorators.
Copyright
=========
This document has been placed in the public domain.
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