lemeia wrote: > kent wrote: >>Rereading your mail another possibility comes to mind. It sounds like >>extractTo() is a general-purpose function that is used for a specific >>purpose by the module you are testing. Why not extract extractTo to a >>utility module? Then you can test it as much as you like in the unit >>tests for the utility and you can reuse it in other code if the need >>arises. Almost all of my projects have 'util' packages containing >>collections of miscellaneous useful stuff. The utils have their own unit >>tests and get included as needed in other modules and projects. >> >> This makes sense to me and I hadn't thought of that in all honesty. >> I get so involved in object orientated design, I sometimes forget about the convenience of a few general functions to "help out". Would I lose my OO membership card though?
No, not at all, in fact you jeopardize your OO membership if you use it where it is not needed ;) But seriously, one of the strengths of Python is that I can write OO code where appropriate, I can write procedural code when I don't need the extra power of classes, and I can write straight-line code when my needs are very simple, I can write in a functional style too. I can even mix the four styles in a single module if I want to. So go ahead and make a utility module, or a public helper function at global scope in the same module as your class. Kent _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
