In article <mailman.514.1347390405.27098.python-l...@python.org>, Ian Kelly <ian.g.ke...@gmail.com> wrote: >On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 12:45 PM, <e.doxta...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Python noob here. Trying to understand a particular syntax: >> >> class stuff: >> def __init__(self): >> self._bongo = "BongoWorld" >> >> What is the significance of the leading underscore in "self._bongo"? >> I've seen this a few times and, after looking through PEP 8, I didn't >> see anything relevant, but I could have missed it. > >Single leading underscore is a convention indicating that the name >should be considered private and not used externally. It's a softer >version of the double leading underscore that means basically the same >thing but has syntactic significance.
Note that the convention is rooted in an actual semantic meaning for single underscore: ``from foo import *`` ignores any module global names in foo that start with a single leading underscore. Obviously, this has little effect for most Python programs because you DON'T USE ``import *``. -- Aahz (a...@pythoncraft.com) <*> http://www.pythoncraft.com/ "....Normal is what cuts off your sixth finger and your tail..." --Siobhan -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
