accessing class variables of private classes

[Uwe Mayer]

Hi,

I need to access class variables of a class I'd like to make private:

i.e.
class __Bar(object):
pass

class __Foo(__Bar):
def __init__(self):
super(__Foo, self).__init__()

__Foo() Name Error: global name '_Foo__Foo' is not defined

Here I want to prevent the user of instanciating __Foo from outside of the
module.
i.e.
class __A:
a_list = []
def __init__(self):
__A.a_list.append(self)
__A()

NameError: global name '_A__A' is not defined

Here I want to keep a list of instanciated objects of class __A, so I can
update internal values if they are changed.
Any ideas?

Thanks
Uwe

[Peter Otten]

Uwe Mayer wrote:

I need to access class variables of a class I'd like to make private:

i.e.
class __Bar(object):
pass

class __Foo(__Bar):
def __init__(self):
super(__Foo, self).__init__()

__Foo() Name Error: global name '_Foo__Foo' is not defined

Here I want to prevent the user of instanciating __Foo from outside of the
module.
i.e.
class __A:
a_list = []
def __init__(self):
__A.a_list.append(self)
__A()

NameError: global name '_A__A' is not defined

Here I want to keep a list of instanciated objects of class __A, so I can
update internal values if they are changed.
Any ideas?

Use single underscores. Even better: don't impose bogus restrictions on
users of your module. I know, we're all dissenting children, but still...

Thanks
Uwe

[Mark McEahern]

Uwe Mayer wrote:

Hi,

I need to access class variables of a class I'd like to make private:

Use single underscores instead of double underscores--you won't have to
workaround the name mangling. Besides, nothing's really private anyway.

// m