Calling constructor but not initializer

[Steven D'Aprano]

I have a class that has a distinct "empty" state. In the empty state, it
shouldn't have any data attributes, but it should still have methods.

The analogy is with a list: an empty list still has methods like append()
etc. but it has no "data", if by data you mean items in the list.

I can construct an empty instance in the __new__ constructor, and I can
initialize an non-empty instance in the __init__ initializer, but I can't
think of any good way to stop __init__ from being called if the instance
is empty. In pseudo-code, I want to do something like this:

class Parrot(object):
def __new__(cls, data):
construct a new empty instance
if data is None:
return that empty instance
else:
call __init__ on the instance to populate it
return the non-empty instance


but of course __init__ is automatically called.


Any suggestions for doing something like this?

 

[Steve Holden]

I have a class that has a distinct "empty" state. In the empty state, it
shouldn't have any data attributes, but it should still have methods.

The analogy is with a list: an empty list still has methods like append()
etc. but it has no "data", if by data you mean items in the list.

I can construct an empty instance in the __new__ constructor, and I can
initialize an non-empty instance in the __init__ initializer, but I can't
think of any good way to stop __init__ from being called if the instance
is empty. In pseudo-code, I want to do something like this:

class Parrot(object):
def __new__(cls, data):
construct a new empty instance
if data is None:
return that empty instance
else:
call __init__ on the instance to populate it
return the non-empty instance


but of course __init__ is automatically called.


Any suggestions for doing something like this?

Easy: use a method whose name is something other than __init__, then
don't bother to implement __init__. Note that __new__ shouldn't call
__init__ anyway, that's done by the instance creation mechanism.

regards
Steve
--
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Sorry, the dog ate my .sigline

 

[Hrvoje Niksic]

I can construct an empty instance in the __new__ constructor, and I
can initialize an non-empty instance in the __init__ initializer,
but I can't think of any good way to stop __init__ from being called
if the instance is empty. In pseudo-code, I want to do something
like this:

class Parrot(object):
def __new__(cls, data):
construct a new empty instance
if data is None:
return that empty instance
else:
call __init__ on the instance to populate it
return the non-empty instance

Suggestion 1: since you "construct a new empty instance" in both
cases, simply move the entire logic to __init__.

Suggestion 2: name your initialization method something other than
__init__ and the
calling-type-object-automatically-calls-__init__-after-__new__ simply
disappears.

Can you specify the way you'd like to instantiate the class?

 

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:47:02 -0400, Steve Holden wrote:

[snippity-doo-dah]

Easy: use a method whose name is something other than __init__, then
don't bother to implement __init__. Note that __new__ shouldn't call
__init__ anyway, that's done by the instance creation mechanism.

*stares at post*

You know, I must have been REALLY tired last night, because that is
extraordinarily obvious.

Even more obvious is not to use __new__ at all, and just wrap the body of
the __init__ in an "if instance should not be empty" clause.

Thanks to everyone for answering my stupid question without laughing.