python-peps/pep-0294.txt

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PEP: 294
Title: Type Names in the types Module
Version: $Revision$
Last-Modified: $Date$
Author: oren at hishome.net (Oren Tirosh)
Status: Draft
Type: Standards track
Created: 19-Jun-2002
Python-Version: 2.3
Post-History:
Abstract
This PEP proposes that symbols matching the type name should be
added to the types module for all basic Python types in the types
module:
types.IntegerType -> types.int
types.FunctionType -> types.function
types.TracebackType -> types.traceback
...
The long capitalized names currently in the types module will be
deprecated.
With this change the types module can serve as a replacement for
the new module. The new module shall be deprecated and listed in
PEP 4.
Rationale
Using two sets of names for the same objects is redundant and
confusing.
In Python versions prior to 2.2 the symbols matching many type
names were taken by the factory functions for those types. Now
all basic types have been unified with their factory functions and
therefore the type names are available to be consistently used to
refer to the type object.
Most types are accessible as either builtins or in the new module
but some types such as traceback and generator are only accssible
through the types module under names which do not match the type
name. This PEP provides a uniform way to access all basic types
under a single set of names.
Specification
The types module shall pass the following test:
import types
for t in vars(types).values():
if type(t) is type:
assert getattr(types, t.__name__) is t
The types 'class', 'instance method' and 'dict-proxy' have already
been renamed to the valid Python identifiers 'classobj',
'instancemethod' and 'dictproxy', making this possible.
Backward compatibility
Because of their widespread use it is not planned to actually
remove the long names from the types module in some future
version. However, the long names should be changed in
documentation and library sources to discourage their use in new
code.
Reference Implementation
A reference implementation is available in SourceForge patch
#569328: http://www.python.org/sf/569328
Copyright
This document has been placed in the public domain.
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