CODEWITHSUNDEEP
python
P.Holmes
P.Holmes

Reputation: 19

Function/variable legal syntax

I understand the idea that we follow our own naming convention, but is this totally so? For instance a function/variable name cannot begin with a number but can include 'special' characters, right? However this:

@methodtrace(utils.logger)

raises questions for me. Are the @ and . significant? I have read What is the naming convention in Python for variable and function names?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 104

Answers (1)

jonrsharpe
jonrsharpe

Reputation: 122032

This is not a matter of coding style (which for Python is defined in PEP-8), but of syntax. What you have posted is not a single name. It means:

@methodtrace(utils.logger)

^ decorate the following function
 ^ with the result of calling the function methodtrace
             ^ with a single argument, the logger attribute of utils

A valid Python identifier is defined in the documentation - it must start with a letter (upper- or lower-case) and then include zero or more letters or numbers. The @ is syntactical sugar for decorating a function (see What does the "at" (@) symbol do in Python?), the parentheses are syntax for calling a function/method and the . is used for access to the attributes of an object.

Upvotes: 3

Related Questions