Does Python have something like anonymous inner classes of Java?

Question

In Java you can define a new class inline using anonymous inner classes. This is useful when you need to rewrite only a single method of the class.

Suppose that you

Answer 1

Well, classes are first class objects, so you can create them in methods if you want. e.g.

from optparse import OptionParser
def make_custom_op(i):
  class MyOP(OptionParser):
    def exit(self):
      print 'custom exit called', i
  return MyOP

custom_op_class = make_custom_op(3)
custom_op = custom_op_class()

custom_op.exit()          # prints 'custom exit called 3'
dir(custom_op)            # shows all the regular attributes of an OptionParser

But, really, why not just define the class at the normal level? If you need to customise it, put the customisation in as arguments to __init__.

(edit: fixed typing errors in code)