Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!news.mixmin.net!feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed5.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.001 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 1.00; '*S*': 0.00; 'python,': 0.02; 'one?': 0.05; 'class,': 0.07; 'correct.': 0.07; 'python': 0.09; 'lawrence': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'underlying': 0.09; 'underscore': 0.09; 'url:faqs': 0.09; 'interfaces': 0.15; 'kern': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'url:catb': 0.16; 'usenet': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.17; '>>>': 0.18; 'thanks.': 0.21; 'interpret': 0.22; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.25; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.26; 'first,': 0.27; 'question': 0.27; 'convention': 0.27; "doesn't": 0.28; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.28; 'about.': 0.29; 'usually': 0.30; 'on,': 0.30; 'point': 0.31; 'could': 0.32; 'explains': 0.33; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.33; 'faster': 0.35; 'robert': 0.35; 'pm,': 0.35; 'sometimes': 0.35; 'received:org': 0.36; 'but': 0.36; 'url:org': 0.36; 'method': 0.36; 'why': 0.37; 'ones': 0.37; 'rather': 0.37; 'subject:: ': 0.38; 'mark': 0.38; 'things': 0.38; 'talk': 0.38; 'page': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'header:Received:5': 0.40; 'your': 0.60; 'skip:u 10': 0.60; 'real': 0.61; 'world': 0.63; 'our': 0.65; 'believe': 0.69; 'eco': 0.84; 'hardly': 0.84; 'terrible': 0.84 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Robert Kern Subject: Re: Private methods Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:12:47 +0100 References: <1krpbz9.1wge3j11123k2vN%real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk> <1krpdak.u0qy9e1a4knspN%real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: 213.1.240.227 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.7; rv:15.0) Gecko/20120907 Thunderbird/15.0.1 In-Reply-To: <1krpdak.u0qy9e1a4knspN%real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk> X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 43 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1349791978 news.xs4all.nl 6881 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:38916 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:31025 On 10/9/12 2:59 PM, D.M. Procida wrote: > Mark Lawrence wrote: > >> On 09/10/2012 14:24, D.M. Procida wrote: >>> What exactly is the point of a private method? Why or when would I want >>> to use one? >>> >>> Daniele >>> >> >> Hardly a Python question but using a search engine could have got you >> here, and rather faster :) >> > http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2620699/why-private-methods-in-the-ob > ject-oriented > > Thanks. Sometimes I prefer to talk to real people on Usenet than do web > searches. Just my preference. That's understandable, but the real people on Usenet who will answer your questions usually prefer that you do a web search first, for a variety of reasons. http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before > Anyway, one of the answers on that page explains that public methods are > interfaces to a class, that other things might rely on, and private ones > are for its own internal logic, that other things don't need to care > about. > > In Python, using an underscore is simply a convention to note that a > method is private - it doesn't actually hide it from other things - > correct? This is correct. -- Robert Kern "I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth." -- Umberto Eco