> > And most methods do not return the object of which they > > are a part (in Python at least, in SmallTalk they do). > That seems like it would get rather confusing...
Actually, from an OOP point of view, its a very powerful default and I wish more Python methods did it. It allows you to chain operations together. Using Python notation: employee.updateName('fred).updateAddress(number=7).resetPassword() Using the Python idiom of not using a return value for updates you'd need to use 3 separate lines to do the updates... Of course 3 lines are easier to debug, but often chaining operations like this is useful. If the return value is not needed then you can just ignore it. But I often use 'return self' as a kind of default option in my own classes. Alan G. _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor