"""Support Eiffel-style preconditions and postconditions. For example, class C: def m1(self, arg): require arg > 0 return whatever ensure Result > arg can be written (clumsily, I agree) as: class C(Eiffel): def m1(self, arg): return whatever def m1_pre(self, arg): assert arg > 0 def m1_post(self, Result, arg): assert Result > arg Pre- and post-conditions for a method, being implemented as methods themselves, are inherited independently from the method. This gives much of the same effect of Eiffel, where pre- and post-conditions are inherited when a method is overridden by a derived class. However, when a derived class in Python needs to extend a pre- or post-condition, it must manually merge the base class' pre- or post-condition with that defined in the derived class', for example: class D(C): def m1(self, arg): return arg**2 def m1_post(self, Result, arg): C.m1_post(self, Result, arg) assert Result < 100 This gives derived classes more freedom but also more responsibility than in Eiffel, where the compiler automatically takes care of this. In Eiffel, pre-conditions combine using contravariance, meaning a derived class can only make a pre-condition weaker; in Python, this is up to the derived class. For example, a derived class that takes away the requirement that arg > 0 could write: def m1_pre(self, arg): pass but one could equally write a derived class that makes a stronger requirement: def m1_pre(self, arg): require arg > 50 It would be easy to modify the classes shown here so that pre- and post-conditions can be disabled (separately, on a per-class basis). A different design would have the pre- or post-condition testing functions return true for success and false for failure. This would make it possible to implement automatic combination of inherited and new pre-/post-conditions. All this is left as an exercise to the reader. """ from Meta import MetaClass, MetaHelper, MetaMethodWrapper class EiffelMethodWrapper(MetaMethodWrapper): def __init__(self, func, inst): MetaMethodWrapper.__init__(self, func, inst) # Note that the following causes recursive wrappers around # the pre-/post-condition testing methods. These are harmless # but inefficient; to avoid them, the lookup must be done # using the class. try: self.pre = getattr(inst, self.__name__ + "_pre") except AttributeError: self.pre = None try: self.post = getattr(inst, self.__name__ + "_post") except AttributeError: self.post = None def __call__(self, *args, **kw): if self.pre: apply(self.pre, args, kw) Result = apply(self.func, (self.inst,) + args, kw) if self.post: apply(self.post, (Result,) + args, kw) return Result class EiffelHelper(MetaHelper): __methodwrapper__ = EiffelMethodWrapper class EiffelMetaClass(MetaClass): __helper__ = EiffelHelper Eiffel = EiffelMetaClass('Eiffel', (), {}) def _test(): class C(Eiffel): def m1(self, arg): return arg+1 def m1_pre(self, arg): assert arg > 0, "precondition for m1 failed" def m1_post(self, Result, arg): assert Result > arg x = C() x.m1(12) ## x.m1(-1) if __name__ == '__main__': _test()