diff options
author | Skip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com> | 2008-09-15 02:19:53 (GMT) |
---|---|---|
committer | Skip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com> | 2008-09-15 02:19:53 (GMT) |
commit | 9feab31d985fefcae8eb70c546ff090b72f066a0 (patch) | |
tree | 1fc467c45370bf6ad549599fa7fb6c6dca4c210a /Doc | |
parent | f02c5f3d4e0f26fef45cc360d81730976fdbbf13 (diff) | |
download | cpython-9feab31d985fefcae8eb70c546ff090b72f066a0.zip cpython-9feab31d985fefcae8eb70c546ff090b72f066a0.tar.gz cpython-9feab31d985fefcae8eb70c546ff090b72f066a0.tar.bz2 |
Pick up a few more definitions from the glossary on the wiki.
Diffstat (limited to 'Doc')
-rw-r--r-- | Doc/glossary.rst | 29 |
1 files changed, 29 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/glossary.rst b/Doc/glossary.rst index 9765b4c..7a87dd5 100644 --- a/Doc/glossary.rst +++ b/Doc/glossary.rst @@ -45,6 +45,11 @@ Glossary Any expression may be used within the argument list, and the evaluated value is passed to the local variable. + + attribute + A value associated with an object which is referenced by name using + dotted expressions. For example, if an object *o* has an attribute + *a* it would be referenced as *o.a*. BDFL Benevolent Dictator For Life, a.k.a. `Guido van Rossum @@ -57,6 +62,11 @@ Glossary second time (recompilation from source to bytecode can be avoided). This "intermediate language" is said to run on a :term:`virtual machine` that executes the machine code corresponding to each bytecode. + + class + A template for creating user-defined objects. Class definitions + normally contain method definitions which operate on instances of the + class. classic class Any class which does not inherit from :class:`object`. See @@ -341,6 +351,11 @@ Glossary pre-conditions before making calls or lookups. This style contrasts with the :term:`EAFP` approach and is characterized by the presence of many :keyword:`if` statements. + + list + A built-in Python :term:`sequence`. Despite its name it is more akin + to an array in other languages than to a linked list since access to + elements are O(1). list comprehension A compact way to process all or part of the elements in a sequence and @@ -417,6 +432,11 @@ Glossary descriptors, properties, and :meth:`__getattribute__`. More information can be found in :ref:`newstyle`. + + object + Any data with state (attributes or value) and defined behavior + (methods). Also the ultimate base class of any :term:`new-style + class`. positional argument The arguments assigned to local names inside a function or method, @@ -483,6 +503,15 @@ Glossary an :term:`expression` or a one of several constructs with a keyword, such as :keyword:`if`, :keyword:`while` or :keyword:`print`. + triple-quoted string + A string which is bound by three instances of either a quotation mark + (") or an apostrophe ('). While they don't provide any functionality + not available with single-quoted strings, they are useful for a number + of reasons. They allow you to include unescaped single and double + quotes within a string and they can span multiple lines without the + use of the continuation character, making them especially useful when + writing docstrings. + type The type of a Python object determines what kind of object it is; every object has a type. An object's type is accessible as its |