Patching classes in Python

Question

Suppose I have a Python class that I want to add an extra property to.

Is there any difference between

import path.MyClass
MyClass.foo = bar

and using something like :

import path.MyClass
setattr(MyClass, 'foo', bar)

?

If not, why do people seem to do the second rather than the first? (Eg. here http://concisionandconcinnity.blogspot.com/2008/10/chaining-monkey-patches-in-python.html )

Answer 1

The statements are equivalent, but setattr might be used because it's the most dynamic choice of the two (with setattr you can use a variable for the attribute name.)

See: http://docs.python.org/library/functions.html#setattr