library symtable.SymbolTable.is_nested() description differs from Cpython implementation.
The documentation says
is_nested()
Return True if the block is a nested class or function.
The cpython implementation of symtable.c sets the corresponding flag only if the block is nested somewhere inside a function. This would include, for example, a scope inside a class inside a function.
Thus
def f(): # false def g(): # true def h(): # true class C: # true class B: # true def h(): # true class C: # true class A: # false def g(): # false !! def h(): # true class C: # true class B: # false !! def h(): # false !! class C: # false !!
The value is the same as the CO_NESTED bit in the code object's co_flags member.
The flag is also documented (similarly incorrectly) in the inspect module documentation.
I would recommend deprecating this feature. The documentation for co_flags says that
bits 0x10 and 0x1000 were used in earlier versions of Python.
0x10 is the CO_NESTED bit. I would guess that nobody uses CO_NESTED or SymbolTable.is_nested().
Alternatives:
- Change the behavior in Cpython to agree with the documentation. A class nested in another scope should also have CO_NESTED set. Make a test case for the compiler, to ensure that other implementations follow the same definition.
- Correct the documentation for symtable and inspect modules. Possibly also deprecate the feature.