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Client-Side Slice-to-Python Mapping : 22.14 Mapping for Classes
Copyright © 2003-2009 ZeroC, Inc.

22.14 Mapping for Classes

Slice classes are mapped to Python classes with the same name. The generated class contains an attribute for each Slice data member (just as for structures and exceptions). Consider the following class definition:
class TimeOfDay {
    short hour;         // 0  23
    short minute;       // 0  59
    short second;       // 0  59
    string format();    // Return time as hh:mm:ss
};
The Python mapping generates the following code for this definition:
class TimeOfDay(Ice.Object):
    def __init__(self, hour=0, minute=0, second=0):
        # ...
        self.hour = hour
        self.minute = minute
        self.second = second

    def ice_staticId():
        return '::M::TimeOfDay'
    ice_staticId = staticmethod(ice_staticId)

    # ...

    #
    # Operation signatures.
    #
    # def format(self, current=None):
There are a number of things to note about the generated code:
1. The generated class TimeOfDay inherits from Ice.Object. This means that all classes implicitly inherit from Ice.Object, which is the ultimate ancestor of all classes. Note that Ice.Object is not the same as Ice.ObjectPrx. In other words, you cannot pass a class where a proxy is expected and vice versa.
2. The constructor defines an attribute for each Slice data member.
3. The class defines the static method ice_staticId.
4. A comment summarizes the method signatures for each Slice operation.
We will discuss these items in the subsections below.

22.14.1 Inheritance from Ice.Object

Like interfaces, classes implicitly inherit from a common base class, Ice.Object. However, as shown in Figure 22.2, classes inherit from Ice.Object instead of Ice.ObjectPrx (which is at the base of the inheritance hierarchy for proxies). As a result, you cannot pass a class where a proxy is expected (and vice versa) because the base types for classes and proxies are not compatible.
Figure 22.2. Inheritance from Ice.ObjectPrx and Ice.Object.
Ice.Object contains a number of member functions:
class Object(object):
    def ice_isA(self, id, current=None):
        # ...

    def ice_ping(self, current=None):
        # ...

    def ice_ids(self, current=None):
        # ...

    def ice_id(self, current=None):
        # ...

    def ice_staticId():
        # ...
    ice_staticId = staticmethod(ice_staticId)

    def ice_preMarshal(self):
        # ...

    def ice_postUnmarshal(self):
        # ...
The member functions of Ice.Object behave as follows:
• ice_isA
This method returns true if the object supports the given type ID, and false otherwise.
• ice_ping
As for interfaces, ice_ping provides a basic reachability test for the class.
• ice_ids
This method returns a string sequence representing all of the type IDs supported by this object, including ::Ice::Object.
• ice_id
This method returns the actual run-time type ID of the object. If you call ice_id through a reference to a base instance, the returned type id is the actual (possibly more derived) type ID of the instance.
• ice_staticId
This method is generated in each class and returns the static type ID of the class.
• ice_preMarshal
The Ice run time invokes this method prior to marshaling the object’s state, providing the opportunity for a subclass to validate its declared data members.
• ice_postUnmarshal
The Ice run time invokes this method after unmarshaling an object’s state. A subclass typically overrides this function when it needs to perform additional initialization using the values of its declared data members.
Note that neither Ice.Object nor the generated class override __hash__ and __eq__, so the default implementations apply.

22.14.2 Data Members of Classes

By default, data members of classes are mapped exactly as for structures and exceptions: for each data member in the Slice definition, the generated class contains a corresponding attribute.
Although Python provides no standard mechanism for restricting access to an object’s attributes, by convention an attribute whose name begins with an underscore signals the author’s intent that the attribute should only be accessed by the class itself or by one of its subclasses. You can employ this convention in your Slice classes using the protected metadata directive. The presence of this directive causes the Slice compiler to prepend an underscore to the mapped name of the data member. For example, the TimeOfDay class shown below has the protected metadata directive applied to each of its data members:
class TimeOfDay {
    ["protected"] short hour;   // 0  23
    ["protected"] short minute; // 0  59
    ["protected"] short second; // 0  59
    string format();    // Return time as hh:mm:ss
};
The Slice compiler produces the following generated code for this definition:
class TimeOfDay(Ice.Object):
    def __init__(self, hour=0, minute=0, second=0):
        # ...
        self._hour = hour
        self._minute = minute
        self._second = second

    # ...

    #
    # Operation signatures.
    #
    # def format(self, current=None):
For a class in which all of the data members are protected, the metadata directive can be applied to the class itself rather than to each member individually. For example, we can rewrite the TimeOfDay class as follows:
["protected"] class TimeOfDay {
    short hour;         // 0  23
    short minute;       // 0  59
    short second;       // 0  59
    string format();    // Return time as hh:mm:ss
};

22.14.3 Operations of Classes

Operations of classes are mapped to methods in the generated class. This means that, if a class contains operations (such as the format operation of our TimeOfDay class), you must provide an implementation of the operation in a class that is derived from the generated class. For example:
class TimeOfDayI(TimeOfDay):
    def __init__(self, hour=0, minute=0, second=0):
        TimeOfDay.__init__(self, hour, minute, second)

    def format(self, current=None):
        return "%02d:%02d:%02d" %\
            (self.hour, self.minute, self.second)
A Slice class such as TimeOfDay that declares or inherits an operation is inherently abstract. Python does not support the notion of abstract classes or abstract methods, therefore the mapping merely summarizes the required method signatures in a comment for your convenience. Furthermore, the mapping generates code in the constructor of an abstract class to prevent it from being instantiated directly; any attempt to do so raises a RuntimeError exception.
You may notice that the mapping for an operation adds an optional trailing parameter named current. For now, you can ignore this parameter and pretend it does not exist. (We look at it in more detail in Section 32.6.)

22.14.4 Class Factories

Having created a class such as this, we have an implementation and we can instantiate the TimeOfDayI class, but we cannot receive it as the return value or as an out-parameter from an operation invocation. To see why, consider the following simple interface:
interface Time {
    TimeOfDay get();
};
When a client invokes the get operation, the Ice run time must instantiate and return an instance of the TimeOfDay class. However, TimeOfDay is an abstract class that cannot be instantiated. Unless we tell it, the Ice run time cannot magically know that we have created a TimeOfDayI class that implements the abstract format operation of the TimeOfDay abstract class. In other words, we must provide the Ice run time with a factory that knows that the TimeOfDay abstract class has a TimeOfDayI concrete implementation. The Ice::Communicator interface provides us with the necessary operations:
module Ice {
    local interface ObjectFactory {
        Object create(string type);
        void destroy();
    };

    local interface Communicator {
        void addObjectFactory(ObjectFactory factory, string id);
        ObjectFactory findObjectFactory(string id);
        // ...
    };
};
To supply the Ice run time with a factory for our TimeOfDayI class, we must implement the ObjectFactory interface:
class ObjectFactory(Ice.ObjectFactory):
    def create(self, type):
        if type == M.TimeOfDay.ice_staticId():
            return TimeOfDayI()
        assert(False)
        return None

    def destroy(self):
        # Nothing to do
        pass
The object factory’s create method is called by the Ice run time when it needs to instantiate a TimeOfDay class. The factory’s destroy method is called by the Ice run time when its communicator is destroyed.
The create method is passed the type ID (see Section 4.13) of the class to instantiate. For our TimeOfDay class, the type ID is "::M::TimeOfDay". Our implementation of create checks the type ID: if it matches, the method instantiates and returns a TimeOfDayI object. For other type IDs, the method asserts because it does not know how to instantiate other types of objects.
Note that we used the ice_staticId method to obtain the type ID rather than embedding a literal string. Using a literal type ID string in your code is discouraged because it can lead to errors that are only detected at run time. For example, if a Slice class or one of its enclosing modules is renamed and the literal string is not changed accordingly, a receiver will fail to unmarshal the object and the Ice run time will raise NoObjectFactoryException. By using ice_staticId instead, we avoid any risk of a misspelled or obsolete type ID, and we can discover at compile time if a Slice class or module has been renamed.
Given a factory implementation, such as our ObjectFactory, we must inform the Ice run time of the existence of the factory:
ic = ...   # Get Communicator...
ic.addObjectFactory(ObjectFactory(),
                    M.TimeOfDay.ice_staticId())
Now, whenever the Ice run time needs to instantiate a class with the type ID "::M::TimeOfDay", it calls the create method of the registered ObjectFactory instance.
The destroy operation of the object factory is invoked by the Ice run time when the communicator is destroyed. This gives you a chance to clean up any resources that may be used by your factory. Do not call destroy on the factory while it is registered with the communicator—if you do, the Ice run time has no idea that this has happened and, depending on what your destroy implementation is doing, may cause undefined behavior when the Ice run time tries to next use the factory.
The run time guarantees that destroy will be the last call made on the factory, that is, create will not be called concurrently with destroy, and create will not be called once destroy has been called. However, calls to create can be made concurrently.
Note that you cannot register a factory for the same type ID twice: if you call addObjectFactory with a type ID for which a factory is registered, the Ice run time throws an AlreadyRegisteredException.
Finally, keep in mind that if a class has only data members, but no operations, you need not create and register an object factory to transmit instances of such a class. Only if a class has operations do you have to define and register an object factory.
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