From 518d8da05c6cbf04b285d74efeb8ccf635e23486 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Raymond Hettinger Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 11:44:00 +0000 Subject: Issue 1163367: Clarify super() docs. Also, fix-up the markup and XXX comment. --- Doc/library/functions.rst | 17 +++++++++-------- 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/Doc/library/functions.rst b/Doc/library/functions.rst index cc0fe5a..916db6d 100644 --- a/Doc/library/functions.rst +++ b/Doc/library/functions.rst @@ -1037,9 +1037,7 @@ are always available. They are listed here in alphabetical order. .. function:: super([type[, object-or-type]]) - .. XXX updated as per http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=208549 but needs checking - - Return a "super" object that acts like the superclass of *type*. + Return a *super* object that acts as a proxy to superclasses of *type*. If the second argument is omitted the super object returned is unbound. If the second argument is an object, ``isinstance(obj, type)`` must be true. If @@ -1047,8 +1045,8 @@ are always available. They are listed here in alphabetical order. Calling :func:`super` without arguments is equivalent to ``super(this_class, first_arg)``. - There are two typical use cases for "super". In a class hierarchy with - single inheritance, "super" can be used to refer to parent classes without + There are two typical use cases for :func:`super`. In a class hierarchy with + single inheritance, :func:`super` can be used to refer to parent classes without naming them explicitly, thus making the code more maintainable. This use closely parallels the use of "super" in other programming languages. @@ -1072,9 +1070,12 @@ are always available. They are listed here in alphabetical order. It does so by implementing its own :meth:`__getattribute__` method for searching parent classes in a predictable order that supports cooperative multiple inheritance. Accordingly, :func:`super` is undefined for implicit lookups using statements or - operators such as ``super()[name]``. Also, :func:`super` is not - limited to use inside methods: under the hood it searches the stack - frame for the class (``__class__``) and the first argument. + operators such as ``super()[name]``. + + Also note that :func:`super` is not limited to use inside methods. The + two argument specifies the arguments exactly and makes the appropriate + references. The zero argument form automatically searches the stack frame + for the class (``__class__``) and the first argument. .. function:: tuple([iterable]) -- cgit v0.12