Is there generic inheritance in python?

Question

I was wondering if there is generic inheritance in python.

For example,

Class A(object):
  def foo():

Class B(object):
  def foo():


Class C(<someParentClass>):
  def bar():

so effectively, I would like to do something like

  myClass1 = C()<A>
  myClass2 = C()<B>

Im guessing this is not possible in python, but is there any other way to have a similar effect?

Answer 1

There's nothing preventing it. Everything in Python is essentially generic. Everything is runtime, including class statements, so you can do something like:

def make_C(parent):
    class C(parent):
        def bar(self):
            ...
    return C

myClass1 = make_C(A)
myClass2 = make_C(B)

If you want the C class to be a little more descriptive in name or documentation, you can assign the __name__ and __doc__ attributes, or use the three-argument form of type() instead of the class statement to create it.

Answer 2

You could derive C from object and use

class MyClass1(A, C):
    pass
class MyClass2(B, C):
    pass

There are many ways achieving the exact effect you described, but I think defining C as a mix-in class is the most idiomatic approach.