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Module Glossary

Page Maps

graph LR
  family["Python Programming"]
  program["Python Meta-Programming"]
  section["Metaclass Design Class Creation"]
  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 09: Metaclass Design and Class Creation in Python Metaprogramming. It keeps the language of this directory stable so the same ideas keep the same names across lessons, practice, review, and capstone discussion.

How to use this glossary

Use the glossary when metaclass discussions start to blur together class creation, definition-time hooks, namespace control, and lower-power alternatives. Module 09 is meant to keep those boundaries explicit.

Terms in this directory

Term Meaning in this directory
Class creation pipeline The definition-time sequence from metaclass resolution through __prepare__, class-body execution, metaclass __new__, and metaclass __init__.
Declaration-time enforcement A rule enforced while the class body is still executing, typically through a custom mapping supplied by __prepare__.
Definition time The moment a class statement executes and metaclass hooks run, usually during module import.
Effective metaclass The single metaclass Python resolves as the class-creation owner for a new class.
Import-time side effect Any registry update, validation, or global mutation caused by class creation while a module is being imported.
Joint metaclass A metaclass that subclasses multiple metaclasses in an attempt to satisfy conflict rules, valid only when the behaviors truly compose.
Metaclass The class of a class object; in this module, the owner of class-creation-time behavior.
Metaclass conflict The failure that occurs when multiple bases imply incompatible metaclass owners and Python cannot derive one coherent effective metaclass.
Metaclass __init__ The post-creation hook that receives the finished class object and is usually best for registration or bookkeeping.
Metaclass __new__ The class-construction hook that receives the class name, bases, and namespace and is best for structural decisions.
Namespace mapping The mapping object that receives class-body assignments before the class object is created.
__prepare__ The metaclass hook that returns the namespace mapping used while the class body executes.
Reset hook An explicit API such as clear() that makes metaclass-owned global state deterministic and testable.
type(name, bases, namespace) The default class-construction primitive that shows class creation as a runtime event.
Hierarchy-wide invariant A rule that should apply automatically across every subclass in a class family and can therefore justify metaclass control more often than one-off rules.

Keep the module connected