#!/usr/bin/env python2.5

##

# Dynamically overloaded functions.

#

# This is an implementation of (dynamically, or run-time) overloaded

# functions; also known as generic functions or multi-methods.

#

# This module is from Python SVN,

# http://svn.python.org/view/sandbox/trunk/overload/overloading.py

##

"""Dynamically overloaded functions.

This is an implementation of (dynamically, or run-time) overloaded

functions; also known as generic functions or multi-methods.

The dispatch algorithm uses the types of all argument for dispatch,

similar to (compile-time) overloaded functions or methods in C++ and

Java.

Most of the complexity in the algorithm comes from the need to support

subclasses in call signatures. For example, if an function is

registered for a signature (T1, T2), then a call with a signature (S1,

S2) is acceptable, assuming that S1 is a subclass of T1, S2 a subclass

of T2, and there are no other more specific matches (see below).

If there are multiple matches and one of those doesn't *dominate* all

others, the match is deemed ambiguous and an exception is raised. A

subtlety here: if, after removing the dominated matches, there are

still multiple matches left, but they all map to the same function,

then the match is not deemed ambiguous and that function is used.

Read the method find_func() below for details.

Python 2.5 is required due to the use of predicates any() and all().

"""

from types import MethodType as instancemethod

class overloaded:

"""An implementation of overloaded functions."""

def __init__(self, default_func):

# Decorator to declare new overloaded function.

self.registry = {}

self.cache = {}

self.default_func = default_func

def __get__(self, obj, type=None):

if obj is None:

return self

return instancemethod(self, obj)

def register(self, *types):

"""Decorator to register an implementation for a specific set of types.

.register(t1, t2)(f) is equivalent to .register_func((t1, t2), f).

"""

def helper(func):

self.register_func(types, func)

return func

return helper

def register_func(self, types, func):

"""Helper to register an implementation."""

self.registry[tuple(types)] = func

self.cache = {} # Clear the cache (later we can optimize this).

def __call__(self, *args):

"""Call the overloaded function."""

types = tuple(map(type, args))

func = self.cache.get(types)

if func is None:

self.cache[types] = func = self.find_func(types)

return func(*args)

def find_func(self, types):

"""Find the appropriate overloaded function; don't call it.

This won't work for old-style classes or classes without __mro__.

"""

func = self.registry.get(types)

if func is not None:

# Easy case -- direct hit in registry.

return func

# XXX Phillip Eby suggests to use issubclass() instead of __mro__.

# There are advantages and disadvantages.

# I can't help myself -- this is going to be intense functional code.

# Find all possible candidate signatures.

mros = tuple(t.__mro__ for t in types)

n = len(mros)

candidates = [sig for sig in self.registry

if len(sig) == n and

all(t in mro for t, mro in zip(sig, mros))]

if not candidates:

# No match at all -- use the default function.

return self.default_func

if len(candidates) == 1:

# Unique match -- that's an easy case.

return self.registry[candidates[0]]

# More than one match -- weed out the subordinate ones.

def dominates(dom, sub,

orders=tuple(dict((t, i) for i, t in enumerate(mro))

for mro in mros)):

# Predicate to decide whether dom strictly dominates sub.

# Strict domination is defined as domination without equality.

# The arguments dom and sub are type tuples of equal length.

# The orders argument is a precomputed auxiliary data structure

# giving dicts of ordering information corresponding to the

# positions in the type tuples.

# A type d dominates a type s iff order[d] <= order[s].

# A type tuple (d1, d2, ...) dominates a type tuple of equal length

# (s1, s2, ...) iff d1 dominates s1, d2 dominates s2, etc.

if dom is sub:

return False

return all(order[d] <= order[s]

for d, s, order in zip(dom, sub, orders))

# I suppose I could inline dominates() but it wouldn't get any clearer.

candidates = [cand

for cand in candidates

if not any(dominates(dom, cand) for dom in candidates)]

if len(candidates) == 1:

# There's exactly one candidate left.

return self.registry[candidates[0]]

# Perhaps these multiple candidates all have the same implementation?

funcs = set(self.registry[cand] for cand in candidates)

if len(funcs) == 1:

return funcs.pop()

# No, the situation is irreducibly ambiguous.

raise TypeError("ambigous call; types=%r; candidates=%r" %

(types, candidates))