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(python2.1-lib.info)Functions

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Functions
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Function objects are created by function definitions.  The only
operation on a function object is to call it: `FUNC(ARGUMENT-LIST)'.

There are really two flavors of function objects: built-in functions
and user-defined functions.  Both support the same operation (to call
the function), but the implementation is different, hence the different
object types.

The implementation adds two special read-only attributes: `F.func_code'
is a function's "code object"  (see below) and `F.func_globals' is the
dictionary used as the function's global namespace (this is the same as
`M.__dict__' where M is the module in which the function F was defined).

Function objects also support getting and setting arbitrary attributes,
which can be used to, e.g. attach metadata to functions.  Regular
attribute dot-notation is used to get and set such attributes. _Note
that the current implementation only supports function attributes on
functions written in Python.  Function attributes on built-ins may be
supported in the future._

Functions have another special attribute `F.__dict__' (a.k.a.
`F.func_dict') which contains the namespace used to support function
attributes.  `__dict__' can be accessed directly, set to a dictionary
object, or `None'.  It can also be deleted (but the following two lines
are equivalent):

     del func.__dict__
     func.__dict__ = None