228 lines
7.7 KiB
ReStructuredText
228 lines
7.7 KiB
ReStructuredText
:mod:`abc` --- Abstract Base Classes
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====================================
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.. module:: abc
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:synopsis: Abstract base classes according to PEP 3119.
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.. moduleauthor:: Guido van Rossum
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.. sectionauthor:: Georg Brandl
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.. much of the content adapted from docstrings
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**Source code:** :source:`Lib/abc.py`
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--------------
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This module provides the infrastructure for defining an :term:`abstract base
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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
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regarding a type hierarchy for numbers based on ABCs.)
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The :mod:`collections` module has some concrete classes that derive from
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ABCs; these can, of course, be further derived. In addition the
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:mod:`collections` module has some ABCs that can be used to test whether
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a class or instance provides a particular interface, for example, is it
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hashable or a mapping.
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This module provides the following class:
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.. class:: ABCMeta
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Metaclass for defining Abstract Base Classes (ABCs).
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Use this metaclass to create an ABC. An ABC can be subclassed directly, and
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then acts as a mix-in class. You can also register unrelated concrete
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classes (even built-in classes) and unrelated ABCs as "virtual subclasses" --
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these and their descendants will be considered subclasses of the registering
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ABC by the built-in :func:`issubclass` function, but the registering ABC
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won't show up in their MRO (Method Resolution Order) nor will method
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implementations defined by the registering ABC be callable (not even via
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:func:`super`). [#]_
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Classes created with a metaclass of :class:`ABCMeta` have the following method:
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.. method:: register(subclass)
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Register *subclass* as a "virtual subclass" of this ABC. For
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example::
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from abc import ABCMeta
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class MyABC(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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pass
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MyABC.register(tuple)
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assert issubclass(tuple, MyABC)
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assert isinstance((), MyABC)
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.. versionchanged:: 3.3
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Returns the registered subclass, to allow usage as a class decorator.
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You can also override this method in an abstract base class:
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.. method:: __subclasshook__(subclass)
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(Must be defined as a class method.)
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Check whether *subclass* is considered a subclass of this ABC. This means
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that you can customize the behavior of ``issubclass`` further without the
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need to call :meth:`register` on every class you want to consider a
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subclass of the ABC. (This class method is called from the
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:meth:`__subclasscheck__` method of the ABC.)
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This method should return ``True``, ``False`` or ``NotImplemented``. If
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it returns ``True``, the *subclass* is considered a subclass of this ABC.
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If it returns ``False``, the *subclass* is not considered a subclass of
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this ABC, even if it would normally be one. If it returns
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``NotImplemented``, the subclass check is continued with the usual
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mechanism.
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.. XXX explain the "usual mechanism"
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For a demonstration of these concepts, look at this example ABC definition::
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class Foo:
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def __getitem__(self, index):
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...
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def __len__(self):
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...
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def get_iterator(self):
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return iter(self)
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class MyIterable(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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@abstractmethod
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def __iter__(self):
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while False:
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yield None
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def get_iterator(self):
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return self.__iter__()
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@classmethod
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def __subclasshook__(cls, C):
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if cls is MyIterable:
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if any("__iter__" in B.__dict__ for B in C.__mro__):
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return True
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return NotImplemented
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MyIterable.register(Foo)
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The ABC ``MyIterable`` defines the standard iterable method,
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:meth:`__iter__`, as an abstract method. The implementation given here can
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still be called from subclasses. The :meth:`get_iterator` method is also
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part of the ``MyIterable`` abstract base class, but it does not have to be
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overridden in non-abstract derived classes.
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The :meth:`__subclasshook__` class method defined here says that any class
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that has an :meth:`__iter__` method in its :attr:`__dict__` (or in that of
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one of its base classes, accessed via the :attr:`__mro__` list) is
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considered a ``MyIterable`` too.
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Finally, the last line makes ``Foo`` a virtual subclass of ``MyIterable``,
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even though it does not define an :meth:`__iter__` method (it uses the
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old-style iterable protocol, defined in terms of :meth:`__len__` and
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:meth:`__getitem__`). Note that this will not make ``get_iterator``
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available as a method of ``Foo``, so it is provided separately.
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It also provides the following decorators:
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.. decorator:: abstractmethod(function)
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A decorator indicating abstract methods.
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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`
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cannot be instantiated unless all of its abstract methods and
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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.
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Dynamically adding abstract methods to a class, or attempting to modify the
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abstraction status of a method or class once it is created, are not
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supported. The :func:`abstractmethod` only affects subclasses derived using
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regular inheritance; "virtual subclasses" registered with the ABC's
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:meth:`register` method are not affected.
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Usage::
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class C(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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@abstractmethod
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def my_abstract_method(self, ...):
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...
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.. note::
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Unlike Java abstract methods, these abstract
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methods may have an implementation. This implementation can be
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called via the :func:`super` mechanism from the class that
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overrides it. This could be useful as an end-point for a
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super-call in a framework that uses cooperative
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multiple-inheritance.
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.. decorator:: abstractclassmethod(function)
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A subclass of the built-in :func:`classmethod`, indicating an abstract
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classmethod. Otherwise it is similar to :func:`abstractmethod`.
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Usage::
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class C(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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@abstractclassmethod
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def my_abstract_classmethod(cls, ...):
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...
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.. versionadded:: 3.2
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.. decorator:: abstractstaticmethod(function)
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A subclass of the built-in :func:`staticmethod`, indicating an abstract
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staticmethod. Otherwise it is similar to :func:`abstractmethod`.
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Usage::
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class C(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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@abstractstaticmethod
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def my_abstract_staticmethod(...):
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...
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.. versionadded:: 3.2
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.. function:: abstractproperty(fget=None, fset=None, fdel=None, doc=None)
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A subclass of the built-in :func:`property`, indicating an abstract property.
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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
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instantiated unless all of its abstract methods and properties are overridden.
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The abstract properties can be called using any of the normal
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'super' call mechanisms.
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Usage::
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class C(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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@abstractproperty
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def my_abstract_property(self):
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...
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This defines a read-only property; you can also define a read-write abstract
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property using the 'long' form of property declaration::
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class C(metaclass=ABCMeta):
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def getx(self): ...
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def setx(self, value): ...
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x = abstractproperty(getx, setx)
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.. rubric:: Footnotes
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.. [#] C++ programmers should note that Python's virtual base class
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concept is not the same as C++'s.
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