> > ...and really means this... > > class C: > > x = 1 > > def f(self,y): return T.x + y > > I don't understand what T is. Did you mean C?
Yes, I meant C. Thanks. > > If so, you are wrong. self.x is not the same as <class>.x due to > inheritance rules. Consider one example: > <example snipped see thread/> Thanks for the nice example. Sorry for my loose language. By "really means", what I really meant was that the most appropriate construct should be the one referring to the class variable explicitly. I would consider it inelegant (at least) to use an instance variable with the same name as a class variable. > > > 1. Has this been discussed before? > > Yes. > > > 1. What would this suggestion break? > > Nearly all existing code using classes, which is nearly everything. Is it that common to have code containing a class variable with the same name as a global variable? Are there other use cases that would break? > > > 2. What are the advantages of making the scope of class variables > > different? Maybe is it just a historical trait? > > See the discussion in the PEP for introducing nested scopes in the first > place: > > http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0227/ > Thanks. That is really useful. I just read the PEP. I find this paragraph very helpful: "An alternative would have been to allow name binding in class scope to behave exactly like name binding in function scope. This rule would allow class attributes to be referenced either via attribute reference or simple name. This option was ruled out because it would have been inconsistent with all other forms of class and instance attribute access, which always use attribute references. Code that used simple names would have been obscure." The point about all other access use cases requiring attribute references is a really good one. If a language requires self.f() to access the member f of class C, which happens to be a function, then self.x or C.x should also be required to access attribute x. And no one would be crazy enough to ask to have that fixed. @Steven: Are there other snippets from the PEP you were pointing to specifically? Cheers, Leo. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
