Lines Matching refs:generally
21 function modifies the object (e.g. by appending an item to a\nlist), the default value is in effect modified. This is generally
37 'function': '\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\nvalues." For a parameter with a default value, the corresponding\n*argument* may be omitted from a call, in which case the parameter\'s\ndefault value is substituted. If a parameter has a default value, all\nfollowing parameters must also have a default value --- this is a\nsyntactic restriction 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 the 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',
61 generally also bypasses\nthe ``__getattribute__()`` method even of the object\'s metaclass:\n\n >>> class Meta(type):\n ... def __getattribute__(*args):\n ... print "Metaclass getattribute invoked"\n ... return type.__getattribute__(*args)\n ...\n >>> class C(object):\n ... __metaclass__ = Meta\n ... def __len__(self):\n ... return 10\n ... def __getattribute__(*args):\n ... print "Class getattribute invoked"\n ... return object.__getattribute__(*args)\n ...\n >>> c = C()\n >>> c.__len__() # Explicit lookup via instance\n Class getattribute invoked\n 10\n >>> type(c).__len__(c) # Explicit lookup via type\n Metaclass getattribute invoked\n 10\n >>> len(c) # Implicit lookup\n 10\n\nBypassing the ``__getattribute__()`` machinery in this fashion\nprovides significant scope for speed optimisations within the\ninterpreter, at the cost of some flexibility in the handling of\nspecial methods (the special method *must* be set on the class object\nitself in order to be consistently invoked by the interpreter).\n\n-[ Footnotes ]-\n\n[1] It *is* possible in some cases to change an object\'s type, under\n certain controlled conditions. It generally isn\'t a good idea\n though, since it can lead to some very strange behaviour if it is\n handled incorrectly.\n\n[2] For operands of the same type, it is assumed that if the non-\n reflected method (such as ``__add__()``) fails the operation is\n not supported, which is why the reflected method is not called.\n',
63 'strings': '\nString literals\n***************\n\nString literals are described by the following lexical definitions:\n\n stringliteral ::= [stringprefix](shortstring | longstring)\n stringprefix ::= "r" | "u" | "ur" | "R" | "U" | "UR" | "Ur" | "uR"\n | "b" | "B" | "br" | "Br" | "bR" | "BR"\n shortstring ::= "\'" shortstringitem* "\'" | \'"\' shortstringitem* \'"\'\n longstring ::= "\'\'\'" longstringitem* "\'\'\'"\n | \'"""\' longstringitem* \'"""\'\n shortstringitem ::= shortstringchar | escapeseq\n longstringitem ::= longstringchar | escapeseq\n shortstringchar ::= <any source character except "\\" or newline or the quote>\n longstringchar ::= <any source character except "\\">\n escapeseq ::= "\\" <any ASCII character>\n\nOne syntactic restriction not indicated by these productions is that\nwhitespace is not allowed between the ``stringprefix`` and the rest of\nthe string literal. The source character set is defined by the\nencoding declaration; it is ASCII if no encoding declaration is given\nin the source file; see section *Encoding declarations*.\n\nIn plain English: String literals can be enclosed in matching single\nquotes (``\'``) or double quotes (``"``). They can also be enclosed in\nmatching groups of three single or double quotes (these are generally\nreferred to as *triple-quoted strings*). The backslash (``\\``)\ncharacter is used to escape characters that otherwise have a special\nmeaning, such as newline, backslash itself, or the quote character.\nString literals may optionally be prefixed with a letter ``\'r\'`` or\n``\'R\'``; such strings are called *raw strings* and use different rules\nfor interpreting backslash escape sequences. A prefix of ``\'u\'`` or\n``\'U\'`` makes the string a Unicode string. Unicode strings use the\nUnicode character set as defined by the Unicode Consortium and ISO\n10646. Some additional escape sequences, described below, are\navailable in Unicode strings. A prefix of ``\'b\'`` or ``\'B\'`` is\nignored in Python 2; it indicates that the literal should become a\nbytes literal in Python 3 (e.g. when code is automatically converted\nwith 2to3). A ``\'u\'`` or ``\'b\'`` prefix may be followed by an ``\'r\'``\nprefix.\n\nIn triple-quoted strings, unescaped newlines and quotes are allowed\n(and are retained), except that three unescaped quotes in a row\nterminate the string. (A "quote" is the character used to open the\nstring, i.e. either ``\'`` or ``"``.)\n\nUnless an ``\'r\'`` or ``\'R\'`` prefix is present, escape sequences in\nstrings are interpreted according to rules similar to those used by\nStandard C. The recognized escape sequences are:\n\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| Escape Sequence | Meaning | Notes |\n+===================+===================================+=========+\n| ``\\newline`` | Ignored | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\\\`` | Backslash (``\\``) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\\'`` | Single quote (``\'``) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\"`` | Double quote (``"``) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\a`` | ASCII Bell (BEL) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\b`` | ASCII Backspace (BS) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\f`` | ASCII Formfeed (FF) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\n`` | ASCII Linefeed (LF) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\N{name}`` | Character named *name* in the | |\n| | Unicode database (Unicode only) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\r`` | ASCII Carriage Return (CR) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\t`` | ASCII Horizontal Tab (TAB) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\uxxxx`` | Character with 16-bit hex value | (1) |\n| | *xxxx* (Unicode only) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\Uxxxxxxxx`` | Character with 32-bit hex value | (2) |\n| | *xxxxxxxx* (Unicode only) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\v`` | ASCII Vertical Tab (VT) | |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\ooo`` | Character with octal value *ooo* | (3,5) |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n| ``\\xhh`` | Character with hex value *hh* | (4,5) |\n+-------------------+-----------------------------------+---------+\n\nNotes:\n\n1. Individual code units which form parts of a surrogate pair can be\n encoded using this escape sequence.\n\n2. Any Unicode character can be encoded this way, but characters\n outside the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) will be encoded using a\n surrogate pair if Python is compiled to use 16-bit code units (the\n default). Individual code units which form parts of a surrogate\n pair can be encoded using this escape sequence.\n\n3. As in Standard C, up to three octal digits are accepted.\n\n4. Unlike in Standard C, exactly two hex digits are required.\n\n5. In a string literal, hexadecimal and octal escapes denote the byte\n with the given value; it is not necessary that the byte encodes a\n character in the source character set. In a Unicode literal, these\n escapes denote a Unicode character with the given value.\n\nUnlike Standard C, all unrecognized escape sequences are left in the\nstring unchanged, i.e., *the backslash is left in the string*. (This\nbehavior is useful when debugging: if an escape sequence is mistyped,\nthe resulting output is more easily recognized as broken.) It is also\nimportant to note that the escape sequences marked as "(Unicode only)"\nin the table above fall into the category of unrecognized escapes for\nnon-Unicode string literals.\n\nWhen an ``\'r\'`` or ``\'R\'`` prefix is present, a character following a\nbackslash is included in the string without change, and *all\nbackslashes are left in the string*. For example, the string literal\n``r"\\n"`` consists of two characters: a backslash and a lowercase\n``\'n\'``. String quotes can be escaped with a backslash, but the\nbackslash remains in the string; for example, ``r"\\""`` is a valid\nstring literal consisting of two characters: a backslash and a double\nquote; ``r"\\"`` is not a valid string literal (even a raw string\ncannot end in an odd number of backslashes). Specifically, *a raw\nstring cannot end in a single backslash* (since the backslash would\nescape the following quote character). Note also that a single\nbackslash followed by a newline is interpreted as those two characters\nas part of the string, *not* as a line continuation.\n\nWhen an ``\'r\'`` or ``\'R\'`` prefix is used in conjunction with a\n``\'u\'`` or ``\'U\'`` prefix, then the ``\\uXXXX`` and ``\\UXXXXXXXX``\nescape sequences are processed while *all other backslashes are left\nin the string*. For example, the string literal ``ur"\\u0062\\n"``\nconsists of three Unicode characters: \'LATIN SMALL LETTER B\', \'REVERSE\nSOLIDUS\', and \'LATIN SMALL LETTER N\'. Backslashes can be escaped with\na preceding backslash; however, both remain in the string. As a\nresult, ``\\uXXXX`` escape sequences are only recognized when there are\nan odd number of backslashes.\n',
69 generally not unique.) Then\nthese set operations are available ("other" refers either to another\nview or a set):\n\ndictview & other\n\n Return the intersection of the dictview and the other object as a\n new set.\n\ndictview | other\n\n Return the union of the dictview and the other object as a new set.\n\ndictview - other\n\n Return the difference between the dictview and the other object\n (all elements in *dictview* that aren\'t in *other*) as a new set.\n\ndictview ^ other\n\n Return the symmetric difference (all elements either in *dictview*\n or *other*, but not in both) of the dictview and the other object\n as a new set.\n\nAn example of dictionary view usage:\n\n >>> dishes = {\'eggs\': 2, \'sausage\': 1, \'bacon\': 1, \'spam\': 500}\n >>> keys = dishes.viewkeys()\n >>> values = dishes.viewvalues()\n\n >>> # iteration\n >>> n = 0\n >>> for val in values:\n ... n += val\n >>> print(n)\n 504\n\n >>> # keys and values are iterated over in the same order\n >>> list(keys)\n [\'eggs\', \'bacon\', \'sausage\', \'spam\']\n >>> list(values)\n [2, 1, 1, 500]\n\n >>> # view objects are dynamic and reflect dict changes\n >>> del dishes[\'eggs\']\n >>> del dishes[\'sausage\']\n >>> list(keys)\n [\'spam\', \'bacon\']\n\n >>> # set operations\n >>> keys & {\'eggs\', \'bacon\', \'salad\'}\n {\'bacon\'}\n',
