function attributes

Question

I want to use function attributes to set variable values as an alternate to using global variables. But sometimes I assign another short name to a function. The behavior seems to always do what I want, i.e. the value gets assigned to the function whether I use the long or short name, as shown below. Is there any danger in this?

def flongname():
    pass

f = flongname
f.f1 = 10
flongname.f2 = 20
print flongname.f1, f.f2

And the last line returns 10 20 showing that the different function names refer to the same function object. Right?

tMC · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-16 05:38:25Z

5

id shows that the both f and flongname are references to the same object.

>>> def flongname():
...     pass
... 
>>> f = flongname
>>> id(f)
140419547609160
>>> id(flongname)
140419547609160
>>>

so yes- the behavior you're experiencing is expected.

answered Jan 16, 2013 at 5:38

tMC

19.5k15 gold badges68 silver badges102 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Andrew Youdin Over a year ago

the id built-in is indeed the correct way to show that the renamed function references the same object. Thanks.

avasal · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-16 05:43:43Z

3

f = flongname  # <- Now f has same id as flongname
f.f1 = 10 # <- a new entry is added to flongname.__dict__
flongname.f2 = 20 # <- a new entry is added to flongname.__dict__
print flongname.f1, f.f2 # Both are refering to same dictionary of the function

looking it as it is is doesn't seems dangerous, just remember nobody else is modifying its dict

In [40]: f.__dict__
Out[40]: {}

In [41]: flongname.__dict__
Out[41]: {}

In [42]: f.f1=10

In [43]: flongname.__dict__
Out[43]: {'f1': 10}

In [44]: f.__dict__
Out[44]: {'f1': 10}

In [45]: flongname.f2 = 20

In [46]: f.__dict__
Out[46]: {'f1': 10, 'f2': 20}

answered Jan 16, 2013 at 5:43

avasal

14.9k4 gold badges33 silver badges49 bronze badges

1 Comment

Andrew Youdin Over a year ago

Good to know that this is where the attributes go, into the dict. Thanks.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

function attributes

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

1 Comment

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related