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23 simplified function definition; a function defined in\na "``def``" statement can be passed around or assigned to another name\njust like a function defined by a lambda form.  The "``def``" form is\nactually more powerful since it allows the execution of multiple\nstatements.\n\n**Programmer\'s note:** Functions are first-class objects.  A "``def``"\nform executed inside a function definition defines a local function\nthat can be returned or passed around.  Free variables used in the\nnested function can access the local variables of the function\ncontaining the def.  See section *Naming and binding* for details.\n\n\nClass definitions\n=================\n\nA class definition defines a class object (see section *The standard\ntype hierarchy*):\n\n   classdef    ::= "class" classname [inheritance] ":" suite\n   inheritance ::= "(" [expression_list] ")"\n   classname   ::= identifier\n\nA class definition is an executable statement.  It first evaluates the\ninheritance list, if present.  Each item in the inheritance list\nshould evaluate to a class object or class type which allows\nsubclassing.  The class\'s suite is then executed in a new execution\nframe (see section *Naming and binding*), using a newly created local\nnamespace and the original global namespace. (Usually, the suite\ncontains only function definitions.)  When the class\'s suite finishes\nexecution, its execution frame is discarded but its local namespace is\nsaved. [4] A class object is then created using the inheritance list\nfor the base classes and the saved local namespace for the attribute\ndictionary.  The class name is bound to this class object in the\noriginal local namespace.\n\n**Programmer\'s note:** Variables defined in the class definition are\nclass variables; they are shared by all instances.  To create instance\nvariables, they can be set in a method with ``self.name = value``.\nBoth class and instance variables are accessible through the notation\n"``self.name``", and an instance variable hides a class variable with\nthe same name when accessed in this way. Class variables can be used\nas defaults for instance variables, but using mutable values there can\nlead to unexpected results.  For *new-style class*es, descriptors can\nbe used to create instance variables with different implementation\ndetails.\n\nClass definitions, like function definitions, may be wrapped by one or\nmore *decorator* expressions.  The evaluation rules for the decorator\nexpressions are the same as for functions.  The result must be a class\nobject, which is then bound to the class name.\n\n-[ Footnotes ]-\n\n[1] The exception is propagated to the invocation stack only if there\n    is no ``finally`` clause that negates the exception.\n\n[2] Currently, control "flows off the end" except in the case of an\n    exception or the execution of a ``return``, ``continue``, or\n    ``break`` statement.\n\n[3] A string literal appearing as the first statement in the function\n    body is transformed into the function\'s ``__doc__`` attribute and\n    therefore the function\'s *docstring*.\n\n[4] A string literal appearing as the first statement in the class\n    body is transformed into the namespace\'s ``__doc__`` item and\n    therefore the class\'s *docstring*.\n',

40 'function': u'\nFunction definitions\n********************\n\nA function definition defines a user-defined function object (see\nsection *The standard type hierarchy*):\n\n decorated ::= decorators (classdef | funcdef)\n decorators ::= decorator+\n decorator ::= "@" dotted_name ["(" [argument_list [","]] ")"] NEWLINE\n funcdef ::= "def" funcname "(" [parameter_list] ")" ":" suite\n dotted_name ::= identifier ("." identifier)*\n parameter_list ::= (defparameter ",")*\n ( "*" identifier [, "**" identifier]\n | "**" identifier\n | defparameter [","] )\n defparameter ::= parameter ["=" expression]\n sublist ::= parameter ("," parameter)* [","]\n parameter ::= identifier | "(" sublist ")"\n funcname ::= identifier\n\nA function definition is an executable statement. Its execution binds\nthe function name in the current local namespace to a function object\n(a wrapper around the executable code for the function). This\nfunction object contains a reference to the current global namespace\nas the global namespace to be used when the function is called.\n\nThe function definition does not execute the function body; this gets\nexecuted only when the function is called. [3]\n\nA function definition may be wrapped by one or more *decorator*\nexpressions. Decorator expressions are evaluated when the function is\ndefined, in the scope that contains the function definition. The\nresult must be a callable, which is invoked with the function object\nas the only argument. The returned value is bound to the function name\ninstead of the function object. Multiple decorators are applied in\nnested fashion. For example, the following code:\n\n @f1(arg)\n @f2\n def func(): pass\n\nis equivalent to:\n\n def func(): pass\n func = f1(arg)(f2(func))\n\nWhen one or more top-level parameters have the form *parameter* ``=``\n*expression*, the function is said to have "default parameter values."\nFor a parameter with a default value, the corresponding argument may\nbe omitted from a call, in which case the parameter\'s default value is\nsubstituted. If a parameter has a default value, all following\nparameters must also have a default value --- this is a syntactic\nrestriction that is not expressed by the grammar.\n\n**Default parameter values are evaluated when the function definition\nis executed.** This means that the expression is evaluated once, when\nthe function is defined, and that that same "pre-computed" value is\nused for each call. This is especially important to understand when a\ndefault parameter is a mutable object, such as a list or a dictionary:\nif the function modifies the object (e.g. by appending an item to a\nlist), the default value is in effect modified. This is generally not\nwhat was intended. A way around this is to use ``None`` as the\ndefault, and explicitly test for it in the body of the function, e.g.:\n\n def whats_on_the_telly(penguin=None):\n if penguin is None:\n penguin = []\n penguin.append("property of the zoo")\n return penguin\n\nFunction call semantics are described in more detail in section\n*Calls*. A function call always assigns values to all parameters\nmentioned in the parameter list, either from position arguments, from\nkeyword arguments, or from default values. If the form\n"``*identifier``" is present, it is initialized to a tuple receiving\nany excess positional parameters, defaulting to the empty tuple. If\nthe form "``**identifier``" is present, it is initialized to a new\ndictionary receiving any excess keyword arguments, defaulting to a new\nempty dictionary.\n\nIt is also possible to create anonymous functions (functions not bound\nto a name), for immediate use in expressions. This uses lambda forms,\ndescribed in section *Lambdas*. Note that the lambda form is merely a\nshorthand for a simplified function definition; a function defined in\na "``def``" statement can be passed around or assigned to another name\njust like a function defined by a lambda form. The "``def``" form is\nactually more powerful since it allows the execution of multiple\nstatements.\n\n**Programmer\'s note:** Functions are first-class objects. A "``def``"\nform executed inside a function definition defines a local function\nthat can be returned or passed around. Free variables used in the\nnested function can access the local variables of the function\ncontaining the def. See section *Naming and binding* for details.\n',