[Python-Dev] New Super PEP (original) (raw)

James Y Knight foom at fuhm.net
Sun Apr 29 06:12:12 CEST 2007

On Apr 28, 2007, at 10:43 PM, Calvin Spealman wrote:

Abstract ========

The PEP defines the proposal to enhance the super builtin to work implicitly upon the class within which it is used and upon the instance the current function was called on. The premise of the new super usage suggested is as follows: super.foo(1, 2) to replace the old: super(Foo, self).foo(1, 2)

Rationale ========= The current usage of super requires an explicit passing of both the class and instance it must operate from, requiring a breaking of the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) rule. This hinders any change in class name, and is often considered a wart by many.

This is only a halfway fix to DRY, and it really only fixes the less
important half. The important problem with super is that it
encourages people to write incorrect code by requiring that you
explicitly specify an argument list. Since calling super with any
arguments other than the exact same arguments you have received is
nearly always wrong, requiring that the arglist be specified is an
attractive nuisance.

Now, I'm no syntax designer, but, just being able to say "super()"
seems nice to me. (but don't get too hung up on that spelling, the
concept of not having to repeat the arglist is the important point.)

James

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