gc.garbage from paramiko

[Neil Schemenauer]

John A Meinel <john at arbash-meinel.com> wrote:
> You could move the close() into the member variable. And then
> main_obj.close() just calls the main_obj._secret_sauce.close().

That would be the right design, IMO.  __del__ methods don't cause
problems if they are on objects that do not form a reference cycle.
Even if you very careful to ensure that your code does not create a
cycle involving your object, the user may create one.

A diagram:

    A --> B --> B'
    ^     |
     \   /
      C<-

If B' contains the bits of B that need finalization then things work
fine.  The GC will detect the cycle and clear the attributes of A,
B, and C.  When that happens, B' __del__ will execute.

Using this design makes life easier for you and protects the user
(assuming they don't mess around with private attributes; in that
case they get what they deserve).

HTH,

  Neil