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Module Glossary

Page Maps

graph LR
  family["Python Programming"]
  program["Python Meta-Programming"]
  section["Runtime Objects Object Model"]
  page["Module Glossary"]
  capstone["Capstone evidence"]

  family --> program --> section --> page
  page -.applies in.-> capstone
flowchart LR
  orient["Orient on the page map"] --> read["Read the main claim and examples"]
  read --> inspect["Inspect the related code, proof, or capstone surface"]
  inspect --> verify["Run or review the verification path"]
  verify --> apply["Apply the idea back to the module and capstone"]

This glossary belongs to Module 01: Runtime Objects and the Python Object Model in Python Metaprogramming. It keeps the language of this directory stable so the same ideas keep the same names across lessons, practice, and capstone discussion.

How to use this glossary

Use the glossary when a page or discussion starts to drift into vague words like "magic," "special," or "Python just knows." Module 01 is meant to replace those shortcuts with explicit object-model language.

Terms in this directory

Term Meaning in this directory
Bound method The object returned by instance.method, pairing __self__ with the original function in __func__.
Callable Any object that Python allows you to call. This is broader than "Python-defined function."
Class object The runtime object produced by the class-creation process, usually an instance of type.
Closure A function plus captured bindings from an enclosing scope that remain available after the outer function returns.
Closure cell The runtime object CPython uses to hold a captured binding for a closure.
Code object The compiled implementation data exposed through func.__code__. Useful for diagnostics, but not a general-purpose application contract.
Data descriptor A descriptor defining __set__ and/or __delete__, so it outranks instance storage during attribute lookup.
Diagnostic surface A runtime surface useful for debugging or tooling but too fragile to treat as a core correctness boundary.
Function object A Python-defined function carrying metadata, executable code, and an execution environment.
Import time The runtime moment when a module object is created, executed, and cached.
Instance A runtime object created by calling a class.
Instance storage The place where per-instance state lives, usually __dict__, slots, or both.
Live globals The fact that func.__globals__ points to the current module namespace object rather than to a frozen snapshot.
Metaclass The class of a class object. The default metaclass is type.
Module object The runtime object representing an imported module, typically cached in sys.modules.
MRO The method resolution order Python uses when searching base classes for an attribute.
Non-data descriptor A descriptor defining only __get__, so instance storage can shadow it.
Object graph The network of runtime relationships connecting modules, classes, instances, bound methods, and functions.
Runtime cycle The sequence of import time, class-definition time, instance-creation time, and call time.
Slotted instance An instance whose class declares __slots__, changing its storage layout and often removing the default __dict__.
Spec-level surface A documented and intended behavior or interface you can reasonably use for supported introspection.
Supported introspection Inspection through documented attributes and tools such as inspect, rather than through brittle runtime internals.
__dict__-backed instance An instance storing attributes in a mutable dictionary, which most generic tools expect.
__globals__ The live module namespace dictionary attached to a Python-defined function.
__prepare__ The metaclass hook that can supply the mapping used while executing a class body.
__slots__ A class-level declaration that gives instances a fixed storage layout for named attributes.

Keep the module connected