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101
if getattr(thing, 'name', None) is None
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``**kwargs`` in the prototype of a function should be used sparingly.
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It can be good on higher-order functions that decorate other functions,
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such as ``addCleanup`` or ``assertRaises``, or on functions that take only
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(or almost only) kwargs, where any kwargs can be passed.
112
Otherwise, be careful: if the parameters to a function are a bit complex
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and might vary over time (e.g. the ``commit`` API) then we prefer to pass an
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object rather than a bag of positional and/or keyword args. If you have
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an arbitrary set of keys and values that are different with each use (e.g.
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string interpolation inputs) then again that should not be mixed in with
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the regular positional/keyword args, it seems like a different category of
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Imitating standard objects
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==========================
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Don't provide methods that imitate built-in classes (eg ``__in__``,
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``__call__``, ``__int__``, ``__getitem__``) unless the class you're
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implementing really does act like the builtin class, in semantics and
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For example, old code lets you say ``file_id in inv`` but we no longer
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consider this good style. Instead, say more explicitly
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``inv.has_id(file_id)``.
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``__repr__``, ``__cmp__``, ``__str__`` are usually fine.
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doc/developers/code-style.txt
