diff options
-rw-r--r-- | Doc/library/abc.rst | 68 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | Doc/library/collections.rst | 49 |
2 files changed, 95 insertions, 22 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/library/abc.rst b/Doc/library/abc.rst index f33710f..aa92913 100644 --- a/Doc/library/abc.rst +++ b/Doc/library/abc.rst @@ -9,13 +9,18 @@ .. much of the content adapted from docstrings This module provides the infrastructure for defining abstract base classes -(ABCs) in Python, as outlined in :pep:`3119`; see there for a rationale why this -was added to Python. +(ABCs) in Python, as outlined in :pep:`3119`; see the PEP for why this +was added to Python. (See also, :pep:`3141` regarding a type hierarchy +for numbers based on ABCs.) -Concrete base ABCs to derive from can be found in the :mod:`collections` module. +The :mod:`collections` module has some concrete classes that derive from +ABCs; these can, of course, be further derived. In addition the +:mod:`collections` module has some ABCs that can be used to test whether +a class or instance provides a particular interface, for example, is it +hashable or a mapping. -The module provides the following class: +This module provides the following class: .. class:: ABCMeta @@ -28,15 +33,24 @@ The module provides the following class: ABC by the built-in :func:`issubclass` function, but the registering ABC won't show up in their MRO (Method Resolution Order) nor will method implementations defined by the registering ABC be callable (not even via - :func:`super`). + :func:`super`). [#]_ Classes created with a metaclass of :class:`ABCMeta` have the following method: .. method:: register(subclass) - Register *subclass* as a "virtual subclass" of this ABC. From now on, - ``issubclass(subclass, ABC)`` is true. + Register *subclass* as a "virtual subclass" of this ABC. For + example:: + from abc import ABCMeta + + class MyABC(metaclass=ABCMeta): + pass + + MyABC.register(tuple) + + assert issubclass(tuple, MyABC) + assert isinstance((), MyABC) You can also override this method in an abstract base class: @@ -93,15 +107,15 @@ The module provides the following class: :meth:`__iter__`, as an abstract method. The implementation given here can still be called from subclasses. The :meth:`get_iterator` method is also part of the ``MyIterable`` abstract base class, but it does not have to be - overridden in a non-abstract child. + overridden in non-abstract derived classes. The :meth:`__subclasshook__` class method defined here says that any class that has an :meth:`__iter__` method in its :attr:`__dict__` (or in that of - one of its subclasses, accessed via the :attr:`__mro__`) is considered a - ``MyIterable`` too. + one of its base classes, accessed via the :attr:`__mro__` list) is + considered a ``MyIterable`` too. Finally, the last line makes ``Foo`` a virtual subclass of ``MyIterable``, - even though it does not define a :meth:`__iter__` method (it uses the + even though it does not define an :meth:`__iter__` method (it uses the old-style iterable protocol, defined in terms of :meth:`__len__` and :meth:`__getitem__`). Note that this will not make ``get_iterator`` available as a method of ``Foo``, so it is provided separately. @@ -113,9 +127,11 @@ It also provides the following decorators: A decorator indicating abstract methods. - Using this decorator requires that the metaclass is :class:`ABCMeta` or - derived from it. A class that has a metaclass derived from :class:`ABCMeta` - cannot be instantiated unless all of its abstract methods are overridden. + Using this decorator requires that the class's metaclass is :class:`ABCMeta` or + is derived from it. + A class that has a metaclass derived from :class:`ABCMeta` + cannot be instantiated unless all of its abstract methods and + properties are overridden. The abstract methods can be called using any of the the normal 'super' call mechanisms. @@ -134,20 +150,24 @@ It also provides the following decorators: .. note:: - Unlike C++ or Java, these abstract methods may have an implementation. - This implementation can be called via the :func:`super` mechanism from the - class that overrides it. This could be useful as an end-point for a - super-call in framework using a cooperative multiple-inheritance + Unlike C++'s pure virtual functions, or Java abstract methods, these abstract + methods may have an implementation. This implementation can be + called via the :func:`super` mechanism from the class that + overrides it. This could be useful as an end-point for a + super-call in a framework that uses cooperative + multiple-inheritance. .. function:: abstractproperty(fget[, fset[, fdel[, doc]]]) A subclass of the built-in :func:`property`, indicating an abstract property. - Requires that the metaclass is :class:`ABCMeta` or derived from it. A class - that has a metaclass derived from :class:`ABCMeta` cannot be instantiated - unless all of its abstract properties are overridden. The abstract - properties can be called using any of the the normal 'super' call mechanisms. + Using this function requires that the class's metaclass is :class:`ABCMeta` or + is derived from it. + A class that has a metaclass derived from :class:`ABCMeta` cannot be + instantiated unless all of its abstract methods and properties are overridden. + The abstract properties can be called using any of the normal + 'super' call mechanisms. Usage:: @@ -164,3 +184,7 @@ It also provides the following decorators: def setx(self, value): ... x = abstractproperty(getx, setx) +.. rubric:: Footnotes + +.. [#] C++ programmers should note that Python's virtual base class + concept is not the same as C++'s. diff --git a/Doc/library/collections.rst b/Doc/library/collections.rst index 50ddc0f..fe57f12 100644 --- a/Doc/library/collections.rst +++ b/Doc/library/collections.rst @@ -19,6 +19,55 @@ or file based ordered dictionaries with string keys. Future editions of the standard library may include balanced trees and ordered dictionaries. +In addition to containers, the collections module provides some ABCs +(abstract base classes) that can be used to test whether +a class provides a particular interface, for example, is it hashable or +a mapping. The ABCs provided include those in the following table: + +===================================== ======================================== +ABC Notes +===================================== ======================================== +:class:`collections.Container` Defines ``__contains__()`` +:class:`collections.Hashable` Defines ``__hash__()`` +:class:`collections.Iterable` Defines ``__iter__()`` +:class:`collections.Iterator` Derived from :class:`Iterable` and in + addition defines ``__next__()`` +:class:`collections.Mapping` Derived from :class:`Container`, + :class:`Iterable`, + and :class:`Sized`, and in addition + defines ``__getitem__()``, ``get()``, + ``__contains__()``, ``__len__()``, + ``__iter__()``, ``keys()``, + ``items()``, and ``values()`` +:class:`collections.MutableMapping` Derived from :class:`Mapping` +:class:`collections.MutableSequence` Derived from :class:`Sequence` +:class:`collections.MutableSet` Derived from :class:`Set` and in + addition defines ``add()``, + ``clear()``, ``discard()``, ``pop()``, + and ``toggle()`` +:class:`collections.Sequence` Derived from :class:`Container`, + :class:`Iterable`, and :class:`Sized`, + and in addition defines + ``__getitem__()`` +:class:`collections.Set` Derived from :class:`Container`, :class:`Iterable`, and :class:`Sized` +:class:`collections.Sized` Defines ``__len__()`` +===================================== ======================================== + +.. XXX Have not included them all and the notes are imcomplete +.. Deliberately did one row wide to get a neater output + +These ABCs allow us to ask classes or instances if they provide +particular functionality, for example:: + + from collections import Sized + + size = None + if isinstance(myvar, Sized): + size = len(myvar) + +(For more about ABCs, see the :mod:`abc` module and :pep:`3119`.) + + .. _deque-objects: |