Python object deleting itself

Question

Why won\'t this work? I\'m trying to make an instance of a class delete itself.

>>> class A():
    def kill(self):
        del self


>>>          


        

Answer 1

In this specific context, your example doesn't make a lot of sense.

When a Being picks up an Item, the item retains an individual existence. It doesn't disappear because it's been picked up. It still exists, but it's (a) in the same location as the Being, and (b) no longer eligible to be picked up. While it's had a state change, it still exists.

There is a two-way association between Being and Item. The Being has the Item in a collection. The Item is associated with a Being.

When an Item is picked up by a Being, two things have to happen.

• The Being how adds the Item in some set of items. Your bag attribute, for example, could be such a set. [A list is a poor choice -- does order matter in the bag?]

• The Item's location changes from where it used to be to the Being's location. There are probably two classes os Items - those with an independent sense of location (because they move around by themselves) and items that have to delegate location to the Being or Place where they're sitting.

Under no circumstances does any Python object ever need to get deleted. If an item is "destroyed", then it's not in a Being's bag. It's not in a location.

player.bag.remove(cat)

Is all that's required to let the cat out of the bag. Since the cat is not used anywhere else, it will both exist as "used" memory and not exist because nothing in your program can access it. It will quietly vanish from memory when some quantum event occurs and memory references are garbage collected.

On the other hand,

here.add( cat )
player.bag.remove(cat)

Will put the cat in the current location. The cat continues to exist, and will not be put out with the garbage.