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To: python-list@python.org
From: "Frank Millman" <frank@chagford.com>
Subject: Re: Distributing methods of a class across multiple files
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:26:04 +0200
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"lh" <lhughes42@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is this possible please?  I have done some searching but it is hard to
> narrow down Google searches to this question. What I would like to do
> is, for example:
> 1) define a class Foo in file test.py... give it some methods
> 2) define a file test2.py which contains a set of methods that are
> methods of class Foo defined in test.py.  I can import Foo obviously
> but it isn't clear to me how to identify the methods in test2.py to be
> methods of class Foo defined in test.py (normally I would just indent
> them "def"'s under the class but the class isn't textually in
> test2.py).
>
> In short I would like to distribute code for one class across multiple
> files so a given file doesn't get ridiculously long.
>

I take the point of the other responders that it is not a normal thing to 
do, but I had a few long but rarely used methods which I wanted to move out 
of the main file just to keep the main file tidier. I came up with this 
solution, and it seems to work.

In test2.py -

    def long_method_1():
        pass

    def long_method2():
        pass

In test.py -

    import test2

    class Foo:
        long_method_1 = test2.long_method_1
        long_method_2 = test2.long_method_2

Then in Foo I can refer to self.long_method_1().

HTH

Frank Millman