Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!gegeweb.org!usenet-fr.net!nerim.net!novso.com!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed3a.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!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 0.000 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 1.00; '*S*': 0.00; 'win32': 0.03; 'from:addr:yahoo.co.uk': 0.04; 'differently': 0.07; '__init__': 0.09; 'constructor': 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; 'says.': 0.09; '~ethan~': 0.09; 'python': 0.11; 'jan': 0.12; 'language.': 0.14; 'constructor.': 0.16; 'finney': 0.16; 'initializes': 0.16; 'java.': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'subtype': 0.16; 'language': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.18; 'bit': 0.19; '>>>': 0.22; 'creating': 0.23; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.27; 'point': 0.28; 'function': 0.29; 'skip:( 20': 0.30; "i'm": 0.30; 'writes:': 0.31; 'skip:_ 10': 0.34; 'subject:the': 0.34; "i'd": 0.34; 'but': 0.35; 'c++': 0.36; 'yield': 0.36; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'pm,': 0.38; 'anything': 0.39; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'skip:x 10': 0.40; 'new': 0.61; 'our': 0.64; 'more': 0.64; 'hoping': 0.75; '2014,': 0.84; 'batchelder': 0.84; 'confusing': 0.84; 'ethan': 0.84; 'furman': 0.84 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Mark Lawrence Subject: Re: __init__ is the initialiser Date: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:51:28 +0000 References: <858utviwgs.fsf@benfinney.id.au> <52EC3C40.7080402@stoneleaf.us> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: host-78-147-20-107.as13285.net User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:24.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/24.2.0 In-Reply-To: <52EC3C40.7080402@stoneleaf.us> 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: 42 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1391215880 news.xs4all.nl 2880 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:37688 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:65155 On 01/02/2014 00:13, Ethan Furman wrote: > On 01/31/2014 03:43 PM, Ned Batchelder wrote: >> On 1/31/14 6:05 PM, Ben Finney wrote: >>> Ned Batchelder writes: >> >> I'm not hoping to change any official terminology. I just think that >> calling __init__ anything other than a constructor >> is confusing pedantry. It is a constructor, and Python constructors >> work differently than those in C++ and Java. > > And I would say the opposite. __init__ is not creating anything, which > is what I think of when speaking of a constructor. I'd be willing to > yield the point that Python has a pair of methods that make up the > constructor (an allocator and an initializer), but I found calling > __init__ the constructor very confusing. > > -- > ~Ethan~ Here's what help says. Python 3.4.0b2 (v3.4.0b2:ba32913eb13e, Jan 5 2014, 16:23:43) [MSC v.1600 32 bit (Intel)] on win32 Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. >>> help(object.__new__) Help on built-in function __new__: __new__(...) T.__new__(S, ...) -> a new object with type S, a subtype of T >>> help(object.__init__) Help on wrapper_descriptor: __init__(...) x.__init__(...) initializes x; see help(type(x)) for signature -- My fellow Pythonistas, ask not what our language can do for you, ask what you can do for our language. Mark Lawrence