Python extension methods

Question

OK, in C# we have something like:

public static string Destroy(this string s) { 
    return "";
}

So basically, when you have a string you can do:

str = "This is my string to be destroyed";
newstr = str.Destroy()
# instead of 
newstr = Destroy(str)

Now this is cool because in my opinion it's more readable. Does Python have something similar? I mean instead of writing like this:

x = SomeClass()
div = x.getMyDiv()
span = x.FirstChild(x.FirstChild(div)) # so instead of this

I'd like to write:

span = div.FirstChild().FirstChild() # which is more readable to me

Any suggestion?

Answer 1

After a week, I have a solution that is closest to what I was seeking for. The solution consists of using getattr and __getattr__. Here is an example for those who are interested.

class myClass:

    def __init__(self): pass

    def __getattr__(self, attr): 
        try:
            methodToCall = getattr(myClass, attr)
            return methodToCall(myClass(), self)
        except:
            pass

    def firstChild(self, node):
        # bla bla bla
    def lastChild(self, node):
        # bla bla bla 

x = myClass()
div = x.getMYDiv()
y = div.firstChild.lastChild 

I haven't test this example, I just gave it to give an idea for who might be interested. Hope that helps.