Python Decorators, Methods, and Functions

Decorators allow the programmer to redirect a function call in a predictable and manageable fashion. The following is an example of the basic syntax.

class Class:
     def method(cls)
         ...

     @method
     def function:
         pass

An incidental plus is that one can knit two different pieces of code together very cleanly without editing either the function or the function call. Simply create a function to match the call and have it decorated to the desired function.

This is the basic syntax, but a concrete example is really needed to illustrate this feature. The following pages look at the use of single and multiple decorators for functions and the value they hold for Python programming.

Index: Python Decorators, Methods, and Functions

1. Python's Function Decorators: An Introduction
2. Python Decorator Precursors: A History of Python's staticmethod()
3. Python Decorator Precursors: A History of Python's classmethod()
4. Redirecting Python Calls to Functions and Methods
5. Defining the Decoration
6. Decorating Functions in Python
7. Output of the Decorated Functions