python: are property fields being cached automatically?

Question

My question is are the following two pieces of code run the same by the interpreter:

class A(object):
  def __init__(self):
     self.__x = None

  @property         


        

Answer 1

Properties do not automatically cache their return values. The getter (and setters) are intended to be called each time the property is accessed.

However, Denis Otkidach has written a wonderful cached attribute decorator (published in the Python Cookbook, 2nd edition and also originally on ActiveState under the PSF license) for just this purpose:

class cache(object):    
    '''Computes attribute value and caches it in the instance.
    Python Cookbook (Denis Otkidach) https://stackoverflow.com/users/168352/denis-otkidach
    This decorator allows you to create a property which can be computed once and
    accessed many times. Sort of like memoization.

    '''
    def __init__(self, method, name=None):
        # record the unbound-method and the name
        self.method = method
        self.name = name or method.__name__
        self.__doc__ = method.__doc__
    def __get__(self, inst, cls):
        # self: <__main__.cache object at 0xb781340c>
        # inst: <__main__.Foo object at 0xb781348c>
        # cls:        
        if inst is None:
            # instance attribute accessed on class, return self
            # You get here if you write `Foo.bar`
            return self
        # compute, cache and return the instance's attribute value
        result = self.method(inst)
        # setattr redefines the instance's attribute so this doesn't get called again
        setattr(inst, self.name, result)
        return result

Here is an example demonstrating its use:

def demo_cache():
    class Foo(object):
        @cache
        def bar(self):
            print 'Calculating self.bar'  
            return 42
    foo=Foo()
    print(foo.bar)
    # Calculating self.bar
    # 42
    print(foo.bar)    
    # 42
    foo.bar=1
    print(foo.bar)
    # 1
    print(Foo.bar)
    # __get__ called with inst = None
    # <__main__.cache object at 0xb7709b4c>

    # Deleting `foo.bar` from `foo.__dict__` re-exposes the property defined in `Foo`.
    # Thus, calling `foo.bar` again recalculates the value again.
    del foo.bar
    print(foo.bar)
    # Calculating self.bar
    # 42

demo_cache()