Injecting function call after __init__ with decorator
Question:
I’m trying to find the best way to create a class decorator that does the following:
- Injects a few functions into the decorated class
- Forces a call to one of these functions AFTER the decorated class’
__init__ is called
Currently, I’m just saving off a reference to the ‘original’ __init__ method and replacing it with my __init__ that calls the original and my additional function. It looks similar to this:
orig_init = cls.__init__
def new_init(self, *args, **kwargs):
"""
'Extend' wrapped class' __init__ so we can attach to all signals
automatically
"""
orig_init(self, *args, **kwargs)
self._debugSignals()
cls.__init__ = new_init
Is there a better way to ‘augment’ the original __init__ or inject my call somewhere else? All I really need is for my self._debugSignals() to be called sometime after the object is created. I also want it happen automatically, which is why I thought after __init__ was a good place.
Extra misc. decorator notes
It might be worth mentioning some background on this decorator. You can find the full code here. The point of the decorator is to automatically attach to any PyQt signals and print when they are emitted. The decorator works fine when I decorate my own subclasses of QtCore.QObject, however I’ve been recently trying to automatically decorate all QObject children.
I’d like to have a ‘debug’ mode in the application where I can automatically print ALL signals just to make sure things are doing what I expect. I’m sure this will result in TONS of debug, but I’d still like to see what’s happening.
The problem is my current version of the decorator is causing a segfault when replacing QtCore.QObject.__init__. I’ve tried to debug this, but the code is all SIP generated, which I don’t have much experience with.
So, I was wondering if there was a safer, more pythonic way to inject a function call AFTER the __init__ and hopefully avoid the segfault.
Answers:
Based on this post and this answer, an alternative way to do this is through a custom metaclass. This would work as follows (tested in Python 2.7):
# define a new metaclass which overrides the "__call__" function
class NewInitCaller(type):
def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
"""Called when you call MyNewClass() """
obj = type.__call__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
obj.new_init()
return obj
# then create a new class with the __metaclass__ set as our custom metaclass
class MyNewClass(object):
__metaclass__ = NewInitCaller
def __init__(self):
print "Init class"
def new_init(self):
print "New init!!"
# when you create an instance
a = MyNewClass()
>>> Init class
>>> New init!!
The basic idea is that:
-
when you call MyNewClass() it searches for the metaclass, finds that you have defined NewInitCaller
-
The metaclass __call__ function is called.
-
This function creates the MyNewClass instance using type,
-
The instance runs its own __init__ (printing “Init class”).
-
The meta class then calls the new_init function of the instance.
Here is the solution for Python 3.x, based on this post’s accepted answer. Also see PEP 3115 for reference, I think the rationale is an interesting read.
Changes in the example above are shown with comments; the only real change is the way the metaclass is defined, all other are trivial 2to3 modifications.
# define a new metaclass which overrides the "__call__" function
class NewInitCaller(type):
def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
"""Called when you call MyNewClass() """
obj = type.__call__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
obj.new_init()
return obj
# then create a new class with the metaclass passed as an argument
class MyNewClass(object, metaclass=NewInitCaller): # added argument
# __metaclass__ = NewInitCaller this line is removed; would not have effect
def __init__(self):
print("Init class") # function, not command
def new_init(self):
print("New init!!") # function, not command
# when you create an instance
a = MyNewClass()
>>> Init class
>>> New init!!
Here’s a generalized form of jake77’s example which implements __post_init__ on a non-dataclass. This enables a subclass’s configure() to be automatically invoked in correct sequence after the base & subclass __init__s have completed.
# define a new metaclass which overrides the "__call__" function
class PostInitCaller(type):
def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
"""Called when you call BaseClass() """
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__call__({args}, {kwargs})")
obj = type.__call__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
obj.__post_init__(*args, **kwargs)
return obj
# then create a new class with the metaclass passed as an argument
class BaseClass(object, metaclass=PostInitCaller):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__init__({args}, {kwargs})")
super().__init__()
def __post_init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__post_init__({args}, {kwargs})")
self.configure(*args, **kwargs)
def configure(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.configure({args}, {kwargs})")
class SubClass(BaseClass):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__init__({args}, {kwargs})")
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
def configure(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.configure({args}, {kwargs})")
super().configure(*args, **kwargs)
# when you create an instance
a = SubClass('a', b='b')
running gives:
PostInitCaller.__call__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
SubClass.__init__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
BaseClass.__init__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
BaseClass.__post_init__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
SubClass.configure(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
BaseClass.configure(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
I know that the metaclass approach is the Pro way, but I’ve a more readable and easy proposal using @staticmethod:
class Invites(TimestampModel, db.Model):
id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True, autoincrement=True)
invitee_email = db.Column(db.String(128), nullable=False)
def __init__(self, invitee_email):
invitee_email = invitee_email
@staticmethod
def create_invitation(invitee_email):
"""
Create an invitation
saves it and fetches it because the id
is being generated in the DB
"""
invitation = Invites(invitee_email)
db.session.save(invitation)
db.session.commit()
return Invites.query.filter(
PartnerInvites.invitee_email == invitee_email
).one_or_none()
So I could use it this way:
invitation = Invites.create_invitation("[email protected]")
print(invitation.id, invitation.invitee_email)
>>>> 1 [email protected]
I’m trying to find the best way to create a class decorator that does the following:
- Injects a few functions into the decorated class
- Forces a call to one of these functions AFTER the decorated class’
__init__is called
Currently, I’m just saving off a reference to the ‘original’ __init__ method and replacing it with my __init__ that calls the original and my additional function. It looks similar to this:
orig_init = cls.__init__
def new_init(self, *args, **kwargs):
"""
'Extend' wrapped class' __init__ so we can attach to all signals
automatically
"""
orig_init(self, *args, **kwargs)
self._debugSignals()
cls.__init__ = new_init
Is there a better way to ‘augment’ the original __init__ or inject my call somewhere else? All I really need is for my self._debugSignals() to be called sometime after the object is created. I also want it happen automatically, which is why I thought after __init__ was a good place.
Extra misc. decorator notes
It might be worth mentioning some background on this decorator. You can find the full code here. The point of the decorator is to automatically attach to any PyQt signals and print when they are emitted. The decorator works fine when I decorate my own subclasses of QtCore.QObject, however I’ve been recently trying to automatically decorate all QObject children.
I’d like to have a ‘debug’ mode in the application where I can automatically print ALL signals just to make sure things are doing what I expect. I’m sure this will result in TONS of debug, but I’d still like to see what’s happening.
The problem is my current version of the decorator is causing a segfault when replacing QtCore.QObject.__init__. I’ve tried to debug this, but the code is all SIP generated, which I don’t have much experience with.
So, I was wondering if there was a safer, more pythonic way to inject a function call AFTER the __init__ and hopefully avoid the segfault.
Based on this post and this answer, an alternative way to do this is through a custom metaclass. This would work as follows (tested in Python 2.7):
# define a new metaclass which overrides the "__call__" function
class NewInitCaller(type):
def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
"""Called when you call MyNewClass() """
obj = type.__call__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
obj.new_init()
return obj
# then create a new class with the __metaclass__ set as our custom metaclass
class MyNewClass(object):
__metaclass__ = NewInitCaller
def __init__(self):
print "Init class"
def new_init(self):
print "New init!!"
# when you create an instance
a = MyNewClass()
>>> Init class
>>> New init!!
The basic idea is that:
-
when you call
MyNewClass()it searches for the metaclass, finds that you have definedNewInitCaller -
The metaclass
__call__function is called. -
This function creates the
MyNewClassinstance usingtype, -
The instance runs its own
__init__(printing “Init class”). -
The meta class then calls the
new_initfunction of the instance.
Here is the solution for Python 3.x, based on this post’s accepted answer. Also see PEP 3115 for reference, I think the rationale is an interesting read.
Changes in the example above are shown with comments; the only real change is the way the metaclass is defined, all other are trivial 2to3 modifications.
# define a new metaclass which overrides the "__call__" function
class NewInitCaller(type):
def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
"""Called when you call MyNewClass() """
obj = type.__call__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
obj.new_init()
return obj
# then create a new class with the metaclass passed as an argument
class MyNewClass(object, metaclass=NewInitCaller): # added argument
# __metaclass__ = NewInitCaller this line is removed; would not have effect
def __init__(self):
print("Init class") # function, not command
def new_init(self):
print("New init!!") # function, not command
# when you create an instance
a = MyNewClass()
>>> Init class
>>> New init!!
Here’s a generalized form of jake77’s example which implements __post_init__ on a non-dataclass. This enables a subclass’s configure() to be automatically invoked in correct sequence after the base & subclass __init__s have completed.
# define a new metaclass which overrides the "__call__" function
class PostInitCaller(type):
def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
"""Called when you call BaseClass() """
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__call__({args}, {kwargs})")
obj = type.__call__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
obj.__post_init__(*args, **kwargs)
return obj
# then create a new class with the metaclass passed as an argument
class BaseClass(object, metaclass=PostInitCaller):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__init__({args}, {kwargs})")
super().__init__()
def __post_init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__post_init__({args}, {kwargs})")
self.configure(*args, **kwargs)
def configure(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.configure({args}, {kwargs})")
class SubClass(BaseClass):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.__init__({args}, {kwargs})")
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
def configure(self, *args, **kwargs):
print(f"{__class__.__name__}.configure({args}, {kwargs})")
super().configure(*args, **kwargs)
# when you create an instance
a = SubClass('a', b='b')
running gives:
PostInitCaller.__call__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
SubClass.__init__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
BaseClass.__init__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
BaseClass.__post_init__(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
SubClass.configure(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
BaseClass.configure(('a',), {'b': 'b'})
I know that the metaclass approach is the Pro way, but I’ve a more readable and easy proposal using @staticmethod:
class Invites(TimestampModel, db.Model):
id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True, autoincrement=True)
invitee_email = db.Column(db.String(128), nullable=False)
def __init__(self, invitee_email):
invitee_email = invitee_email
@staticmethod
def create_invitation(invitee_email):
"""
Create an invitation
saves it and fetches it because the id
is being generated in the DB
"""
invitation = Invites(invitee_email)
db.session.save(invitation)
db.session.commit()
return Invites.query.filter(
PartnerInvites.invitee_email == invitee_email
).one_or_none()
So I could use it this way:
invitation = Invites.create_invitation("[email protected]")
print(invitation.id, invitation.invitee_email)
>>>> 1 [email protected]