Question

Have a look at the following code:

class A(object):
    defaults = {'a': 1}

    def __getattr__(self, name):
        print('A.__getattr__')
        return self.get_default(name)

    @classmethod
    def get_default(cls, name):
        # some debug output
        print('A.get_default({}) - {}'.format(name, cls))
        try:
            print(super(cls, cls).defaults) # as expected
        except AttributeError: #except for the base object class, of course
            pass

        # the actual function body
        try:
            return cls.defaults[name]
        except KeyError:
            return super(cls, cls).get_default(name) # infinite recursion
            #return cls.__mro__[1].get_default(name) # this works, though

class B(A):
    defaults = {'b': 2}

class C(B):
    defaults = {'c': 3}


c = C()
print('c.a =', c.a)

I have a hierarchy of classes each with its own dictionary containing some default values. If an instance of a class doesn’t have a particular attribute, a default value for it should be returned instead. If no default value for the attribute is contained in the current class’s defaults dictionary, the superclass’s defaults dictionary should be searched.

I’m trying to implement this using the recursive class method get_default. The program gets stuck in an infinite recursion, unfortunately. My understanding of super() is obviously lacking. By accessing __mro__, I can get it to work properly though, but I’m not sure this is a proper solution.

I have the feeling the answer is somewhere in this article, but I haven’t been able to find it yet. Perhaps I need to resort to using a metaclass?

edit: In my application, __getattr__ first checks self.base. If it is not None, the attribute needs to be fetched from there. Only in the other case, a default value must be returned. I could probably override __getattribute__. Would that be the better solution?

edit 2: Below is an extended example of the functionality that I’m looking for. It is currently implemented using __mro__ (unutbu’s earlier suggestion, as opposed to my original recursive method). Unless someone can suggest a more elegant solution, I’m happy using this implementation. I hope this clears things up.

class A(object):
    defaults = {'a': 1}

    def __init__(self, name, base=None):
        self.name = name
        self.base = base

    def __repr__(self):
        return self.name

    def __getattr__(self, name):
        print(" '{}' attribute not present in '{}'".format(name, self))
        if self.base is not None:
            print("  getting '{}' from base ({})".format(name, self.base))
            return getattr(self.base, name)
        else:
            print("  base = None; returning default value")
            return self.get_default(name)

    def get_default(self, name):
        for cls in self.__class__.__mro__:
            try:
                return cls.defaults[name]
            except KeyError:
                pass
        raise KeyError

class B(A):
    defaults = {'b': 2}

class C(B):
    defaults = {'c': 3}


c1 = C('c1')
c1.b = 55

print('c1.a = ...'); print('   ...', c1.a) # 1
print(); print('c1.b = ...'); print('   ...', c1.b) # 55
print(); print('c1.c = ...'); print('   ...', c1.c) # 3

c2 = C('c2', base=c1)
c2.c = 99

print(); print('c2.a = ...'); print('   ...', c2.a) # 1
print(); print('c2.b = ...'); print('   ...', c2.b) # 55
print(); print('c2.c = ...'); print('   ...', c2.c) # 99

The output:

c1.a = ...
 'a' attribute not present in 'c1'
  base = None; returning default value
   ... 1

c1.b = ...
   ... 55

c1.c = ...
 'c' attribute not present in 'c1'
  base = None; returning default value
   ... 3

c2.a = ...
 'a' attribute not present in 'c2'
  getting 'a' from base (c1)
 'a' attribute not present in 'c1'
  base = None; returning default value
   ... 1

c2.b = ...
 'b' attribute not present in 'c2'
  getting 'b' from base (c1)
   ... 55

c2.c = ...
   ... 99

Answer 1

The solution proposed in the second edit of the question is still the only one that provides everything my application requires. While unutbu’s code might be simpler to understand, the __mro__ solution provides some advantages IMO (see comments).