- document bytes()
- throw out many mentions of "old-style/new-style"
- add memoryview() though I somebody has to fill in the details
- throw out str.decode()
- throw out classobj and instanceobj
diff --git a/Doc/glossary.rst b/Doc/glossary.rst
index 2be05cc..3b4d625 100644
--- a/Doc/glossary.rst
+++ b/Doc/glossary.rst
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@
bytecode.
classic class
- Any class which does not inherit from :class:`object`. See
- :term:`new-style class`.
+ One of the two flavors of classes in earlier Python versions. Since
+ Python 3.0, there are no classic classes anymore.
coercion
The implicit conversion of an instance of one type to another during an
@@ -58,15 +58,14 @@
it's almost certain you can safely ignore them.
descriptor
- Any *new-style* object that defines the methods :meth:`__get__`,
- :meth:`__set__`, or :meth:`__delete__`. When a class attribute is a
- descriptor, its special binding behavior is triggered upon attribute
- lookup. Normally, writing *a.b* looks up the object *b* in the class
- dictionary for *a*, but if *b* is a descriptor, the defined method gets
- called. Understanding descriptors is a key to a deep understanding of
- Python because they are the basis for many features including functions,
- methods, properties, class methods, static methods, and reference to super
- classes.
+ An object that defines the methods :meth:`__get__`, :meth:`__set__`, or
+ :meth:`__delete__`. When a class attribute is a descriptor, its special
+ binding behavior is triggered upon attribute lookup. Normally, writing
+ *a.b* looks up the object *b* in the class dictionary for *a*, but if *b*
+ is a descriptor, the defined method gets called. Understanding
+ descriptors is a key to a deep understanding of Python because they are
+ the basis for many features including functions, methods, properties,
+ class methods, static methods, and reference to super classes.
dictionary
An associative array, where arbitrary keys are mapped to values. The use
@@ -277,11 +276,10 @@
scope. Likewise, global variables read and write to the global namespace.
new-style class
- Any class that inherits from :class:`object`. This includes all built-in
- types like :class:`list` and :class:`dict`. Only new-style classes can
- use Python's newer, versatile features like :attr:`__slots__`,
- descriptors, properties, :meth:`__getattribute__`, class methods, and
- static methods.
+ Old name for the flavor of classes now used for all class objects. In
+ earlier Python versions, only new-style classes could use Python's newer,
+ versatile features like :attr:`__slots__`, descriptors, properties,
+ :meth:`__getattribute__`, class methods, and static methods.
Python 3000
Nickname for the next major Python version, 3.0 (coined long ago when the
@@ -294,11 +292,11 @@
implementation level to keep track of allocated memory.
__slots__
- A declaration inside a :term:`new-style class` that saves memory by
- pre-declaring space for instance attributes and eliminating instance
- dictionaries. Though popular, the technique is somewhat tricky to get
- right and is best reserved for rare cases where there are large numbers of
- instances in a memory-critical application.
+ A declaration inside a class that saves memory by pre-declaring space for
+ instance attributes and eliminating instance dictionaries. Though
+ popular, the technique is somewhat tricky to get right and is best
+ reserved for rare cases where there are large numbers of instances in a
+ memory-critical application.
sequence
An :term:`iterable` which supports efficient element access using integer