[Python-Dev] Re: PEP 318: Let's propose some useful built-in decorators (original) (raw)

Edward Loper edloper at gradient.cis.upenn.edu
Fri Apr 2 21:19:17 EST 2004

deprecated(commentstring) -- mostly for documentation, but would set the deprecated attribute. The commentstring argument is a string explaining why it is deprecated. Maybe this should also have arguments specifying the first Python release in which it was considered deprecated and the last Python release (if known) where it will be available.

Should this be a python-specific decorator? Or should it also be used to mark deprecated objects in external libraries? (The answer will affect the arguments specifing when it became depreciated and when it will go away.)

If we add this, we might want to also define a standard way of marking classes and modules as depreciated. (Perhaps by setting the deprecated variable/property in all 3 cases.)

overrides -- indicates that this overrides a base class method. Maybe the default metaclass could check that if this is used there actually is a corresponding base class method, and we might have a "strict" metaclass that checks this is set for all overriding methods.

Alternatively, it could be checked by an external inspection tool like pychecker. (Since metaclasses are so difficult to mix, it's probably better not to use them when we don't need to.)

-Edward

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