[Python-Dev] Python interface to attribute descriptors (original) (raw)

Paul F Dubois paul@pfdubois.com
Wed, 13 Nov 2002 10:09:17 -0800

Like a few other people before me, I was trying to understand and exploit attribute descriptors and in so doing encountered two facts:

a. The C-API document doesn't document these functions beyond giving their signatures. This is even true in the development version, as far as I can tell.

b. There is no Python API; you can define a class with some methods with the right names and signatures and it will come tantalizingly close to working for some purposes but sooner or later you find that you just aren't allowed to play as a first-class citizen from Python.

Has anyone already done either of these tasks?

On the bright side, I did manage to make a metaclass without my head going critical. Smoke came out my ears, though.