189 lines
7.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
189 lines
7.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
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:mod:`UserDict` --- Class wrapper for dictionary objects
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========================================================
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.. module:: UserDict
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:synopsis: Class wrapper for dictionary objects.
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The module defines a mixin, :class:`DictMixin`, defining all dictionary methods
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for classes that already have a minimum mapping interface. This greatly
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simplifies writing classes that need to be substitutable for dictionaries (such
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as the shelve module).
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This also module defines a class, :class:`UserDict`, that acts as a wrapper
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around dictionary objects. The need for this class has been largely supplanted
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by the ability to subclass directly from :class:`dict` (a feature that became
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available starting with Python version 2.2). Prior to the introduction of
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:class:`dict`, the :class:`UserDict` class was used to create dictionary-like
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sub-classes that obtained new behaviors by overriding existing methods or adding
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new ones.
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The :mod:`UserDict` module defines the :class:`UserDict` class and
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:class:`DictMixin`:
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.. class:: UserDict([initialdata])
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Class that simulates a dictionary. The instance's contents are kept in a
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regular dictionary, which is accessible via the :attr:`data` attribute of
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:class:`UserDict` instances. If *initialdata* is provided, :attr:`data` is
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initialized with its contents; note that a reference to *initialdata* will not
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be kept, allowing it be used for other purposes.
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.. note::
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For backward compatibility, instances of :class:`UserDict` are not iterable.
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.. class:: IterableUserDict([initialdata])
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Subclass of :class:`UserDict` that supports direct iteration (e.g. ``for key in
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myDict``).
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In addition to supporting the methods and operations of mappings (see section
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:ref:`typesmapping`), :class:`UserDict` and :class:`IterableUserDict` instances
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provide the following attribute:
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.. attribute:: IterableUserDict.data
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A real dictionary used to store the contents of the :class:`UserDict` class.
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.. class:: DictMixin()
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Mixin defining all dictionary methods for classes that already have a minimum
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dictionary interface including :meth:`__getitem__`, :meth:`__setitem__`,
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:meth:`__delitem__`, and :meth:`keys`.
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This mixin should be used as a superclass. Adding each of the above methods
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adds progressively more functionality. For instance, defining all but
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:meth:`__delitem__` will preclude only :meth:`pop` and :meth:`popitem` from the
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full interface.
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In addition to the four base methods, progressively more efficiency comes with
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defining :meth:`__contains__`, :meth:`__iter__`, and :meth:`iteritems`.
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Since the mixin has no knowledge of the subclass constructor, it does not define
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:meth:`__init__` or :meth:`copy`.
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:mod:`UserList` --- Class wrapper for list objects
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==================================================
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.. module:: UserList
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:synopsis: Class wrapper for list objects.
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.. note::
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This module is available for backward compatibility only. If you are writing
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code that does not need to work with versions of Python earlier than Python 2.2,
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please consider subclassing directly from the built-in :class:`list` type.
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This module defines a class that acts as a wrapper around list objects. It is a
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useful base class for your own list-like classes, which can inherit from them
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and override existing methods or add new ones. In this way one can add new
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behaviors to lists.
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The :mod:`UserList` module defines the :class:`UserList` class:
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.. class:: UserList([list])
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Class that simulates a list. The instance's contents are kept in a regular
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list, which is accessible via the :attr:`data` attribute of :class:`UserList`
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instances. The instance's contents are initially set to a copy of *list*,
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defaulting to the empty list ``[]``. *list* can be any iterable, e.g. a
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real Python list or a :class:`UserList` object.
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In addition to supporting the methods and operations of mutable sequences (see
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section :ref:`typesseq`), :class:`UserList` instances provide the following
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attribute:
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.. attribute:: UserList.data
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A real Python list object used to store the contents of the :class:`UserList`
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class.
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**Subclassing requirements:** Subclasses of :class:`UserList` are expect to
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offer a constructor which can be called with either no arguments or one
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argument. List operations which return a new sequence attempt to create an
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instance of the actual implementation class. To do so, it assumes that the
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constructor can be called with a single parameter, which is a sequence object
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used as a data source.
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If a derived class does not wish to comply with this requirement, all of the
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special methods supported by this class will need to be overridden; please
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consult the sources for information about the methods which need to be provided
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in that case.
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.. versionchanged:: 2.0
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Python versions 1.5.2 and 1.6 also required that the constructor be callable
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with no parameters, and offer a mutable :attr:`data` attribute. Earlier
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versions of Python did not attempt to create instances of the derived class.
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:mod:`UserString` --- Class wrapper for string objects
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======================================================
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.. module:: UserString
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:synopsis: Class wrapper for string objects.
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.. moduleauthor:: Peter Funk <pf@artcom-gmbh.de>
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.. sectionauthor:: Peter Funk <pf@artcom-gmbh.de>
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.. note::
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This :class:`UserString` class from this module is available for backward
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compatibility only. If you are writing code that does not need to work with
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versions of Python earlier than Python 2.2, please consider subclassing directly
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from the built-in :class:`str` type instead of using :class:`UserString` (there
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is no built-in equivalent to :class:`MutableString`).
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This module defines a class that acts as a wrapper around string objects. It is
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a useful base class for your own string-like classes, which can inherit from
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them and override existing methods or add new ones. In this way one can add new
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behaviors to strings.
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It should be noted that these classes are highly inefficient compared to real
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string or Unicode objects; this is especially the case for
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:class:`MutableString`.
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The :mod:`UserString` module defines the following classes:
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.. class:: UserString([sequence])
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Class that simulates a string or a Unicode string object. The instance's
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content is kept in a regular string or Unicode string object, which is
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accessible via the :attr:`data` attribute of :class:`UserString` instances. The
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instance's contents are initially set to a copy of *sequence*. *sequence* can
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be either a regular Python string or Unicode string, an instance of
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:class:`UserString` (or a subclass) or an arbitrary sequence which can be
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converted into a string using the built-in :func:`str` function.
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.. class:: MutableString([sequence])
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This class is derived from the :class:`UserString` above and redefines strings
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to be *mutable*. Mutable strings can't be used as dictionary keys, because
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dictionaries require *immutable* objects as keys. The main intention of this
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class is to serve as an educational example for inheritance and necessity to
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remove (override) the :meth:`__hash__` method in order to trap attempts to use a
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mutable object as dictionary key, which would be otherwise very error prone and
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hard to track down.
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In addition to supporting the methods and operations of string and Unicode
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objects (see section :ref:`string-methods`), :class:`UserString` instances
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provide the following attribute:
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.. attribute:: MutableString.data
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A real Python string or Unicode object used to store the content of the
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:class:`UserString` class.
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