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Mastery Map

Concept Position

flowchart TD
  family["Python Programming"] --> program["Python Metaprogramming"]
  program --> module["Module 00: Orientation and Study Practice"]
  module --> concept["Mastery Map"]
  concept --> capstone["Capstone pressure point"]
flowchart TD
  question["Start with the strongest design or review question"] --> module4["Modules 04 to 05"]
  module4 --> module6["Modules 06 to 08"]
  module6 --> module9["Modules 09 to 10"]
  module9 --> capstone["Use the capstone proof and review surfaces"]
  capstone --> judgment["Leave with a keep, change, or reject call"]

Read the first diagram as a placement map: this page is one concept inside its parent module, not a detached essay, and the capstone is the pressure test for whether the idea holds. Read the second diagram as the working rhythm for the page: move from wrappers to attributes to class creation and governance, then use the capstone to turn that knowledge into a review judgment.

Use this map when you are studying the second half of the course, reviewing a dynamic codebase, or deciding whether a higher-power runtime hook is truly justified.

Modules 04 to 05: Wrapper Ownership and Policy Boundaries

Theme: learn where callable transformation stays honest and where hidden policy starts to sprawl.

  • transparent decorators and wrapper identity
  • policy-heavy decorator patterns
  • annotation-aware runtime behavior and its limits

Capstone check: inspect actions.py, make action, make signatures, and tests/test_runtime.py.

Modules 06 to 08: Attribute and Class Ownership

Theme: decide whether behavior belongs after class creation, in attribute access, or in wider field architecture.

  • class decorators, properties, and lower-power class customization
  • descriptor lookup, precedence, and per-instance storage
  • richer descriptor systems and where they stop being one-field abstractions

Capstone check: inspect fields.py, make field, and tests/test_fields.py.

Modules 09 to 10: Class Creation and Runtime Governance

Theme: justify the highest-power hooks narrowly and review them against explicit red lines.

  • metaclass scope, timing, and conflicts
  • registration and declaration-time enforcement
  • dynamic execution, monkey-patching, import hooks, and governance boundaries

Capstone check: inspect framework.py, make registry, make verify-report, and tests/test_registry.py.

How to know you are using this map well

You are using the mastery route well when you can answer:

  • what lower-power tool almost solved the problem
  • what exact boundary now owns the behavior
  • what capstone output or test proves the design stayed observable
  • what change you would still reject as making the runtime more magical than necessary

What to keep open with this map