cpython/Doc/library/abc.rst

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:mod:`abc` --- Abstract Base Classes
====================================
.. module:: abc
:synopsis: Abstract base classes according to PEP 3119.
.. moduleauthor:: Guido van Rossum
.. sectionauthor:: Georg Brandl
.. much of the content adapted from docstrings
.. versionadded:: 2.6
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This module provides the infrastructure for defining an :term:`abstract base
class` (ABCs) in Python, as outlined in :pep:`3119`; see the PEP for why this
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was added to Python. (See also :pep:`3141` and the :mod:`numbers` module
regarding a type hierarchy for numbers based on ABCs.)
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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.
This module provides the following class:
.. class:: ABCMeta
Metaclass for defining Abstract Base Classes (ABCs).
Use this metaclass to create an ABC. An ABC can be subclassed directly, and
then acts as a mix-in class. You can also register unrelated concrete
classes (even built-in classes) and unrelated ABCs as "virtual subclasses" --
these and their descendants will be considered subclasses of the registering
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`). [#]_
Classes created with a metaclass of :class:`ABCMeta` have the following method:
.. method:: register(subclass)
Register *subclass* as a "virtual subclass" of this ABC. For
example::
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from abc import ABCMeta
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class MyABC:
__metaclass__ = ABCMeta
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MyABC.register(tuple)
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assert issubclass(tuple, MyABC)
assert isinstance((), MyABC)
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You can also override this method in an abstract base class:
.. method:: __subclasshook__(subclass)
(Must be defined as a class method.)
Check whether *subclass* is considered a subclass of this ABC. This means
that you can customize the behavior of ``issubclass`` further without the
need to call :meth:`register` on every class you want to consider a
subclass of the ABC. (This class method is called from the
:meth:`__subclasscheck__` method of the ABC.)
This method should return ``True``, ``False`` or ``NotImplemented``. If
it returns ``True``, the *subclass* is considered a subclass of this ABC.
If it returns ``False``, the *subclass* is not considered a subclass of
this ABC, even if it would normally be one. If it returns
``NotImplemented``, the subclass check is continued with the usual
mechanism.
.. XXX explain the "usual mechanism"
For a demonstration of these concepts, look at this example ABC definition::
class Foo(object):
def __getitem__(self, index):
...
def __len__(self):
...
def get_iterator(self):
return iter(self)
class MyIterable:
__metaclass__ = ABCMeta
@abstractmethod
def __iter__(self):
while False:
yield None
def get_iterator(self):
return self.__iter__()
@classmethod
def __subclasshook__(cls, C):
if cls is MyIterable:
if any("__iter__" in B.__dict__ for B in C.__mro__):
return True
return NotImplemented
MyIterable.register(Foo)
The ABC ``MyIterable`` defines the standard iterable method,
: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 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 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 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.
It also provides the following decorators:
.. function:: abstractmethod(function)
A decorator indicating abstract methods.
Using this decorator requires that the class's metaclass is :class:`ABCMeta` or
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is derived from it.
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A class that has a metaclass derived from :class:`ABCMeta`
cannot be instantiated unless all of its abstract methods and
properties are overridden.
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The abstract methods can be called using any of the normal 'super' call
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mechanisms.
Dynamically adding abstract methods to a class, or attempting to modify the
abstraction status of a method or class once it is created, are not
supported. The :func:`abstractmethod` only affects subclasses derived using
regular inheritance; "virtual subclasses" registered with the ABC's
:meth:`register` method are not affected.
Usage::
class C:
__metaclass__ = ABCMeta
@abstractmethod
def my_abstract_method(self, ...):
...
.. note::
Unlike Java abstract methods, these abstract
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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]]]])
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A subclass of the built-in :func:`property`, indicating an abstract property.
Using this function requires that the class's metaclass is :class:`ABCMeta` or
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is derived from it.
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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::
class C:
__metaclass__ = ABCMeta
@abstractproperty
def my_abstract_property(self):
...
This defines a read-only property; you can also define a read-write abstract
property using the 'long' form of property declaration::
class C:
__metaclass__ = ABCMeta
def getx(self): ...
def setx(self, value): ...
x = abstractproperty(getx, setx)
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.. rubric:: Footnotes
.. [#] C++ programmers should note that Python's virtual base class
concept is not the same as C++'s.