Don't calculate default value when setting traitlet for the first time

IPython/core/application.py

@@ -1,379 +1,380 b''
 # encoding: utf-8
 """
 An application for IPython.
 
 All top-level applications should use the classes in this module for
 handling configuration and creating configurables.
 
 The job of an :class:`Application` is to create the master configuration
 object and then create the configurable objects, passing the config to them.
 """
 
 # Copyright (c) IPython Development Team.
 # Distributed under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
 
 import atexit
 import glob
 import logging
 import os
 import shutil
 import sys
 
 from IPython.config.application import Application, catch_config_error
 from IPython.config.loader import ConfigFileNotFound
 from IPython.core import release, crashhandler
 from IPython.core.profiledir import ProfileDir, ProfileDirError
 from IPython.utils.path import get_ipython_dir, get_ipython_package_dir, ensure_dir_exists
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
 from IPython.utils.traitlets import List, Unicode, Type, Bool, Dict, Set, Instance
 
 if os.name == 'nt':
     programdata = os.environ.get('PROGRAMDATA', None)
     if programdata:
         SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIRS = [os.path.join(programdata, 'ipython')]
     else:  # PROGRAMDATA is not defined by default on XP.
         SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIRS = []
 else:
     SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIRS = [
         "/usr/local/etc/ipython",
         "/etc/ipython",
     ]
 
 
 # aliases and flags
 
 base_aliases = {
     'profile-dir' : 'ProfileDir.location',
     'profile' : 'BaseIPythonApplication.profile',
     'ipython-dir' : 'BaseIPythonApplication.ipython_dir',
     'log-level' : 'Application.log_level',
     'config' : 'BaseIPythonApplication.extra_config_file',
 }
 
 base_flags = dict(
     debug = ({'Application' : {'log_level' : logging.DEBUG}},
             "set log level to logging.DEBUG (maximize logging output)"),
     quiet = ({'Application' : {'log_level' : logging.CRITICAL}},
             "set log level to logging.CRITICAL (minimize logging output)"),
     init = ({'BaseIPythonApplication' : {
                     'copy_config_files' : True,
                     'auto_create' : True}
             }, """Initialize profile with default config files.  This is equivalent
             to running `ipython profile create <profile>` prior to startup.
             """)
 )
 
 
 class BaseIPythonApplication(Application):
 
     name = Unicode(u'ipython')
     description = Unicode(u'IPython: an enhanced interactive Python shell.')
     version = Unicode(release.version)
 
     aliases = Dict(base_aliases)
     flags = Dict(base_flags)
     classes = List([ProfileDir])
 
     # Track whether the config_file has changed,
     # because some logic happens only if we aren't using the default.
     config_file_specified = Set()
 
     config_file_name = Unicode()
     def _config_file_name_default(self):
         return self.name.replace('-','_') + u'_config.py'
     def _config_file_name_changed(self, name, old, new):
         if new != old:
             self.config_file_specified.add(new)
 
     # The directory that contains IPython's builtin profiles.
     builtin_profile_dir = Unicode(
         os.path.join(get_ipython_package_dir(), u'config', u'profile', u'default')
     )
     
     config_file_paths = List(Unicode)
     def _config_file_paths_default(self):
         return [py3compat.getcwd()]
 
     extra_config_file = Unicode(config=True,
     help="""Path to an extra config file to load.
     
     If specified, load this config file in addition to any other IPython config.
     """)
     def _extra_config_file_changed(self, name, old, new):
         try:
             self.config_files.remove(old)
         except ValueError:
             pass
         self.config_file_specified.add(new)
         self.config_files.append(new)
 
     profile = Unicode(u'default', config=True,
         help="""The IPython profile to use."""
     )
 
     def _profile_changed(self, name, old, new):
         self.builtin_profile_dir = os.path.join(
                 get_ipython_package_dir(), u'config', u'profile', new
         )
 
     ipython_dir = Unicode(config=True,
         help="""
         The name of the IPython directory. This directory is used for logging
         configuration (through profiles), history storage, etc. The default
         is usually $HOME/.ipython. This option can also be specified through
         the environment variable IPYTHONDIR.
         """
     )
     def _ipython_dir_default(self):
         d = get_ipython_dir()
         self._ipython_dir_changed('ipython_dir', d, d)
         return d
     
     _in_init_profile_dir = False
     profile_dir = Instance(ProfileDir)
     def _profile_dir_default(self):
         # avoid recursion
         if self._in_init_profile_dir:
             return
         # profile_dir requested early, force initialization
         self.init_profile_dir()
         return self.profile_dir
 
     overwrite = Bool(False, config=True,
         help="""Whether to overwrite existing config files when copying""")
     auto_create = Bool(False, config=True,
         help="""Whether to create profile dir if it doesn't exist""")
 
     config_files = List(Unicode)
     def _config_files_default(self):
         return [self.config_file_name]
 
     copy_config_files = Bool(False, config=True,
         help="""Whether to install the default config files into the profile dir.
         If a new profile is being created, and IPython contains config files for that
         profile, then they will be staged into the new directory.  Otherwise,
         default config files will be automatically generated.
         """)
     
     verbose_crash = Bool(False, config=True,
         help="""Create a massive crash report when IPython encounters what may be an
         internal error.  The default is to append a short message to the
         usual traceback""")
 
     # The class to use as the crash handler.
     crash_handler_class = Type(crashhandler.CrashHandler)
 
     @catch_config_error
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
         super(BaseIPythonApplication, self).__init__(**kwargs)
         # ensure current working directory exists
         try:
             directory = py3compat.getcwd()
         except:
             # raise exception
             self.log.error("Current working directory doesn't exist.")
             raise
 
     #-------------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Various stages of Application creation
     #-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     def init_crash_handler(self):
         """Create a crash handler, typically setting sys.excepthook to it."""
         self.crash_handler = self.crash_handler_class(self)
         sys.excepthook = self.excepthook
         def unset_crashhandler():
             sys.excepthook = sys.__excepthook__
         atexit.register(unset_crashhandler)
     
     def excepthook(self, etype, evalue, tb):
         """this is sys.excepthook after init_crashhandler
         
         set self.verbose_crash=True to use our full crashhandler, instead of
         a regular traceback with a short message (crash_handler_lite)
         """
         
         if self.verbose_crash:
             return self.crash_handler(etype, evalue, tb)
         else:
             return crashhandler.crash_handler_lite(etype, evalue, tb)
     
     def _ipython_dir_changed(self, name, old, new):
-        str_old = py3compat.cast_bytes_py2(os.path.abspath(old),
-            sys.getfilesystemencoding()
-        )
-        if str_old in sys.path:
-            sys.path.remove(str_old)
+        if old is not None:
+            str_old = py3compat.cast_bytes_py2(os.path.abspath(old),
+                sys.getfilesystemencoding()
+            )
+            if str_old in sys.path:
+                sys.path.remove(str_old)
         str_path = py3compat.cast_bytes_py2(os.path.abspath(new),
             sys.getfilesystemencoding()
         )
         sys.path.append(str_path)
         ensure_dir_exists(new)
         readme = os.path.join(new, 'README')
         readme_src = os.path.join(get_ipython_package_dir(), u'config', u'profile', 'README')
         if not os.path.exists(readme) and os.path.exists(readme_src):
             shutil.copy(readme_src, readme)
         for d in ('extensions', 'nbextensions'):
             path = os.path.join(new, d)
             try:
                 ensure_dir_exists(path)
             except OSError:
                 # this will not be EEXIST
                 self.log.error("couldn't create path %s: %s", path, e)
         self.log.debug("IPYTHONDIR set to: %s" % new)
 
     def load_config_file(self, suppress_errors=True):
         """Load the config file.
 
         By default, errors in loading config are handled, and a warning
         printed on screen. For testing, the suppress_errors option is set
         to False, so errors will make tests fail.
         """
         self.log.debug("Searching path %s for config files", self.config_file_paths)
         base_config = 'ipython_config.py'
         self.log.debug("Attempting to load config file: %s" %
                        base_config)
         try:
             Application.load_config_file(
                 self,
                 base_config,
                 path=self.config_file_paths
             )
         except ConfigFileNotFound:
             # ignore errors loading parent
             self.log.debug("Config file %s not found", base_config)
             pass
         
         for config_file_name in self.config_files:
             if not config_file_name or config_file_name == base_config:
                 continue
             self.log.debug("Attempting to load config file: %s" %
                            self.config_file_name)
             try:
                 Application.load_config_file(
                     self,
                     config_file_name,
                     path=self.config_file_paths
                 )
             except ConfigFileNotFound:
                 # Only warn if the default config file was NOT being used.
                 if config_file_name in self.config_file_specified:
                     msg = self.log.warn
                 else:
                     msg = self.log.debug
                 msg("Config file not found, skipping: %s", config_file_name)
             except:
                 # For testing purposes.
                 if not suppress_errors:
                     raise
                 self.log.warn("Error loading config file: %s" %
                               self.config_file_name, exc_info=True)
 
     def init_profile_dir(self):
         """initialize the profile dir"""
         self._in_init_profile_dir = True
         if self.profile_dir is not None:
             # already ran
             return
         if 'ProfileDir.location' not in self.config:
             # location not specified, find by profile name
             try:
                 p = ProfileDir.find_profile_dir_by_name(self.ipython_dir, self.profile, self.config)
             except ProfileDirError:
                 # not found, maybe create it (always create default profile)
                 if self.auto_create or self.profile == 'default':
                     try:
                         p = ProfileDir.create_profile_dir_by_name(self.ipython_dir, self.profile, self.config)
                     except ProfileDirError:
                         self.log.fatal("Could not create profile: %r"%self.profile)
                         self.exit(1)
                     else:
                         self.log.info("Created profile dir: %r"%p.location)
                 else:
                     self.log.fatal("Profile %r not found."%self.profile)
                     self.exit(1)
             else:
                 self.log.info("Using existing profile dir: %r"%p.location)
         else:
             location = self.config.ProfileDir.location
             # location is fully specified
             try:
                 p = ProfileDir.find_profile_dir(location, self.config)
             except ProfileDirError:
                 # not found, maybe create it
                 if self.auto_create:
                     try:
                         p = ProfileDir.create_profile_dir(location, self.config)
                     except ProfileDirError:
                         self.log.fatal("Could not create profile directory: %r"%location)
                         self.exit(1)
                     else:
                         self.log.info("Creating new profile dir: %r"%location)
                 else:
                     self.log.fatal("Profile directory %r not found."%location)
                     self.exit(1)
             else:
                 self.log.info("Using existing profile dir: %r"%location)
             # if profile_dir is specified explicitly, set profile name
             dir_name = os.path.basename(p.location)
             if dir_name.startswith('profile_'):
                 self.profile = dir_name[8:]
 
         self.profile_dir = p
         self.config_file_paths.append(p.location)
         self._in_init_profile_dir = False
 
     def init_config_files(self):
         """[optionally] copy default config files into profile dir."""
         self.config_file_paths.extend(SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIRS)
         # copy config files
         path = self.builtin_profile_dir
         if self.copy_config_files:
             src = self.profile
 
             cfg = self.config_file_name
             if path and os.path.exists(os.path.join(path, cfg)):
                 self.log.warn("Staging %r from %s into %r [overwrite=%s]"%(
                         cfg, src, self.profile_dir.location, self.overwrite)
                 )
                 self.profile_dir.copy_config_file(cfg, path=path, overwrite=self.overwrite)
             else:
                 self.stage_default_config_file()
         else:
             # Still stage *bundled* config files, but not generated ones
             # This is necessary for `ipython profile=sympy` to load the profile
             # on the first go
             files = glob.glob(os.path.join(path, '*.py'))
             for fullpath in files:
                 cfg = os.path.basename(fullpath)
                 if self.profile_dir.copy_config_file(cfg, path=path, overwrite=False):
                     # file was copied
                     self.log.warn("Staging bundled %s from %s into %r"%(
                             cfg, self.profile, self.profile_dir.location)
                     )
 
 
     def stage_default_config_file(self):
         """auto generate default config file, and stage it into the profile."""
         s = self.generate_config_file()
         fname = os.path.join(self.profile_dir.location, self.config_file_name)
         if self.overwrite or not os.path.exists(fname):
             self.log.warn("Generating default config file: %r"%(fname))
             with open(fname, 'w') as f:
                 f.write(s)
 
     @catch_config_error
     def initialize(self, argv=None):
         # don't hook up crash handler before parsing command-line
         self.parse_command_line(argv)
         self.init_crash_handler()
         if self.subapp is not None:
             # stop here if subapp is taking over
             return
         cl_config = self.config
         self.init_profile_dir()
         self.init_config_files()
         self.load_config_file()
         # enforce cl-opts override configfile opts:
         self.update_config(cl_config)
 

IPython/kernel/zmq/pylab/config.py

@@ -1,118 +1,119 b''
 """Configurable for configuring the IPython inline backend
 
 This module does not import anything from matplotlib.
 """
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 #       Copyright (C) 2011 The IPython Development Team
 #
 #  Distributed under the terms of the BSD License.  The full license is in
 #  the file COPYING, distributed as part of this software.
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Imports
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+from IPython.config import Config
 from IPython.config.configurable import SingletonConfigurable
 from IPython.utils.traitlets import (
     Dict, Instance, CaselessStrEnum, Set, Bool, Int, TraitError, Unicode
 )
 from IPython.utils.warn import warn
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Configurable for inline backend options
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 def pil_available():
     """Test if PIL/Pillow is available"""
     out = False
     try:
         from PIL import Image
         out = True
     except:
         pass
     return out
 
 # inherit from InlineBackendConfig for deprecation purposes
 class InlineBackendConfig(SingletonConfigurable):
     pass
 
 class InlineBackend(InlineBackendConfig):
     """An object to store configuration of the inline backend."""
 
     def _config_changed(self, name, old, new):
         # warn on change of renamed config section
-        if new.InlineBackendConfig != old.InlineBackendConfig:
+        if new.InlineBackendConfig != getattr(old, 'InlineBackendConfig', Config()):
             warn("InlineBackendConfig has been renamed to InlineBackend")
         super(InlineBackend, self)._config_changed(name, old, new)
 
     # The typical default figure size is too large for inline use,
     # so we shrink the figure size to 6x4, and tweak fonts to
     # make that fit.
     rc = Dict({'figure.figsize': (6.0,4.0),
         # play nicely with white background in the Qt and notebook frontend
         'figure.facecolor': (1,1,1,0),
         'figure.edgecolor': (1,1,1,0),
         'axes.facecolor': (1,1,1,0),
         # 12pt labels get cutoff on 6x4 logplots, so use 10pt.
         'font.size': 10,
         # 72 dpi matches SVG/qtconsole
         # this only affects PNG export, as SVG has no dpi setting
         'savefig.dpi': 72,
         # 10pt still needs a little more room on the xlabel:
         'figure.subplot.bottom' : .125
         }, config=True,
         help="""Subset of matplotlib rcParams that should be different for the
         inline backend."""
     )
 
     figure_formats = Set({'png'}, config=True,
                           help="""A set of figure formats to enable: 'png', 
                           'retina', 'jpeg', 'svg', 'pdf'.""")
 
     def _update_figure_formatters(self):
         if self.shell is not None:
             from IPython.core.pylabtools import select_figure_formats
             select_figure_formats(self.shell, self.figure_formats, **self.print_figure_kwargs)
     
     def _figure_formats_changed(self, name, old, new):
         if 'jpg' in new or 'jpeg' in new:
             if not pil_available():
                 raise TraitError("Requires PIL/Pillow for JPG figures")
         self._update_figure_formatters()
 
     figure_format = Unicode(config=True, help="""The figure format to enable (deprecated
                                          use `figure_formats` instead)""")
 
     def _figure_format_changed(self, name, old, new):
         if new:
             self.figure_formats = {new}
 
     print_figure_kwargs = Dict({'bbox_inches' : 'tight'}, config=True,
         help="""Extra kwargs to be passed to fig.canvas.print_figure.
         
         Logical examples include: bbox_inches, quality (for jpeg figures), etc.
         """
     )
     _print_figure_kwargs_changed = _update_figure_formatters
     
     close_figures = Bool(True, config=True,
         help="""Close all figures at the end of each cell.
         
         When True, ensures that each cell starts with no active figures, but it
         also means that one must keep track of references in order to edit or
         redraw figures in subsequent cells. This mode is ideal for the notebook,
         where residual plots from other cells might be surprising.
         
         When False, one must call figure() to create new figures. This means
         that gcf() and getfigs() can reference figures created in other cells,
         and the active figure can continue to be edited with pylab/pyplot
         methods that reference the current active figure. This mode facilitates
         iterative editing of figures, and behaves most consistently with
         other matplotlib backends, but figure barriers between cells must
         be explicit.
         """)
     
     shell = Instance('IPython.core.interactiveshell.InteractiveShellABC')
 
 

IPython/utils/traitlets.py

@@ -1,1710 +1,1714 b''
 # encoding: utf-8
 """
 A lightweight Traits like module.
 
 This is designed to provide a lightweight, simple, pure Python version of
 many of the capabilities of enthought.traits.  This includes:
 
 * Validation
 * Type specification with defaults
 * Static and dynamic notification
 * Basic predefined types
 * An API that is similar to enthought.traits
 
 We don't support:
 
 * Delegation
 * Automatic GUI generation
 * A full set of trait types.  Most importantly, we don't provide container
   traits (list, dict, tuple) that can trigger notifications if their
   contents change.
 * API compatibility with enthought.traits
 
 There are also some important difference in our design:
 
 * enthought.traits does not validate default values.  We do.
 
 We choose to create this module because we need these capabilities, but
 we need them to be pure Python so they work in all Python implementations,
 including Jython and IronPython.
 
 Inheritance diagram:
 
 .. inheritance-diagram:: IPython.utils.traitlets
    :parts: 3
 """
 
 # Copyright (c) IPython Development Team.
 # Distributed under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
 #
 # Adapted from enthought.traits, Copyright (c) Enthought, Inc.,
 # also under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
 
 import contextlib
 import inspect
 import re
 import sys
 import types
 from types import FunctionType
 try:
     from types import ClassType, InstanceType
     ClassTypes = (ClassType, type)
 except:
     ClassTypes = (type,)
 
 from .importstring import import_item
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
 from IPython.utils import eventful
 from IPython.utils.py3compat import iteritems, string_types
 from IPython.testing.skipdoctest import skip_doctest
 
 SequenceTypes = (list, tuple, set, frozenset)
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Basic classes
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 class NoDefaultSpecified ( object ): pass
 NoDefaultSpecified = NoDefaultSpecified()
 
 
 class Undefined ( object ): pass
 Undefined = Undefined()
 
 class TraitError(Exception):
     pass
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Utilities
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 def class_of ( object ):
     """ Returns a string containing the class name of an object with the
     correct indefinite article ('a' or 'an') preceding it (e.g., 'an Image',
     'a PlotValue').
     """
     if isinstance( object, py3compat.string_types ):
         return add_article( object )
 
     return add_article( object.__class__.__name__ )
 
 
 def add_article ( name ):
     """ Returns a string containing the correct indefinite article ('a' or 'an')
     prefixed to the specified string.
     """
     if name[:1].lower() in 'aeiou':
        return 'an ' + name
 
     return 'a ' + name
 
 
 def repr_type(obj):
     """ Return a string representation of a value and its type for readable
     error messages.
     """
     the_type = type(obj)
     if (not py3compat.PY3) and the_type is InstanceType:
         # Old-style class.
         the_type = obj.__class__
     msg = '%r %r' % (obj, the_type)
     return msg
 
 
 def is_trait(t):
     """ Returns whether the given value is an instance or subclass of TraitType.
     """
     return (isinstance(t, TraitType) or
             (isinstance(t, type) and issubclass(t, TraitType)))
 
 
 def parse_notifier_name(name):
     """Convert the name argument to a list of names.
 
     Examples
     --------
 
     >>> parse_notifier_name('a')
     ['a']
     >>> parse_notifier_name(['a','b'])
     ['a', 'b']
     >>> parse_notifier_name(None)
     ['anytrait']
     """
     if isinstance(name, string_types):
         return [name]
     elif name is None:
         return ['anytrait']
     elif isinstance(name, (list, tuple)):
         for n in name:
             assert isinstance(n, string_types), "names must be strings"
         return name
 
 
 class _SimpleTest:
     def __init__ ( self, value ): self.value = value
     def __call__ ( self, test  ):
         return test == self.value
     def __repr__(self):
         return "<SimpleTest(%r)" % self.value
     def __str__(self):
         return self.__repr__()
 
 
 def getmembers(object, predicate=None):
     """A safe version of inspect.getmembers that handles missing attributes.
 
     This is useful when there are descriptor based attributes that for
     some reason raise AttributeError even though they exist.  This happens
     in zope.inteface with the __provides__ attribute.
     """
     results = []
     for key in dir(object):
         try:
             value = getattr(object, key)
         except AttributeError:
             pass
         else:
             if not predicate or predicate(value):
                 results.append((key, value))
     results.sort()
     return results
 
 @skip_doctest
 class link(object):
     """Link traits from different objects together so they remain in sync.
 
     Parameters
     ----------
     obj : pairs of objects/attributes
 
     Examples
     --------
 
     >>> c = link((obj1, 'value'), (obj2, 'value'), (obj3, 'value'))
     >>> obj1.value = 5 # updates other objects as well
     """
     updating = False
     def __init__(self, *args):
         if len(args) < 2:
             raise TypeError('At least two traitlets must be provided.')
 
         self.objects = {}
 
         initial = getattr(args[0][0], args[0][1])
         for obj, attr in args:
             setattr(obj, attr, initial)
 
             callback = self._make_closure(obj, attr)
             obj.on_trait_change(callback, attr)
             self.objects[(obj, attr)] = callback
 
     @contextlib.contextmanager
     def _busy_updating(self):
         self.updating = True
         try:
             yield
         finally:
             self.updating = False
 
     def _make_closure(self, sending_obj, sending_attr):
         def update(name, old, new):
             self._update(sending_obj, sending_attr, new)
         return update
 
     def _update(self, sending_obj, sending_attr, new):
         if self.updating:
             return
         with self._busy_updating():
             for obj, attr in self.objects.keys():
                 setattr(obj, attr, new)
 
     def unlink(self):
         for key, callback in self.objects.items():
             (obj, attr) = key
             obj.on_trait_change(callback, attr, remove=True)
 
 @skip_doctest
 class directional_link(object):
     """Link the trait of a source object with traits of target objects.
 
     Parameters
     ----------
     source : pair of object, name
     targets : pairs of objects/attributes
 
     Examples
     --------
 
     >>> c = directional_link((src, 'value'), (tgt1, 'value'), (tgt2, 'value'))
     >>> src.value = 5  # updates target objects
     >>> tgt1.value = 6 # does not update other objects
     """
     updating = False
 
     def __init__(self, source, *targets):
         self.source = source
         self.targets = targets
 
         # Update current value
         src_attr_value = getattr(source[0], source[1])
         for obj, attr in targets:
             setattr(obj, attr, src_attr_value)
 
         # Wire
         self.source[0].on_trait_change(self._update, self.source[1])
 
     @contextlib.contextmanager
     def _busy_updating(self):
         self.updating = True
         try:
             yield
         finally:
             self.updating = False
 
     def _update(self, name, old, new):
         if self.updating:
             return
         with self._busy_updating():
             for obj, attr in self.targets:
                 setattr(obj, attr, new)
 
     def unlink(self):
         self.source[0].on_trait_change(self._update, self.source[1], remove=True)
         self.source = None
         self.targets = []
 
 def dlink(source, *targets):
     """Shorter helper function returning a directional_link object"""
     return directional_link(source, *targets)
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Base TraitType for all traits
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 class TraitType(object):
     """A base class for all trait descriptors.
 
     Notes
     -----
     Our implementation of traits is based on Python's descriptor
     prototol.  This class is the base class for all such descriptors.  The
     only magic we use is a custom metaclass for the main :class:`HasTraits`
     class that does the following:
 
     1. Sets the :attr:`name` attribute of every :class:`TraitType`
        instance in the class dict to the name of the attribute.
     2. Sets the :attr:`this_class` attribute of every :class:`TraitType`
        instance in the class dict to the *class* that declared the trait.
        This is used by the :class:`This` trait to allow subclasses to
        accept superclasses for :class:`This` values.
     """
 
 
     metadata = {}
     default_value = Undefined
     allow_none = False
     info_text = 'any value'
 
     def __init__(self, default_value=NoDefaultSpecified, allow_none=None, **metadata):
         """Create a TraitType.
         """
         if default_value is not NoDefaultSpecified:
             self.default_value = default_value
         if allow_none is not None:
             self.allow_none = allow_none
 
         if len(metadata) > 0:
             if len(self.metadata) > 0:
                 self._metadata = self.metadata.copy()
                 self._metadata.update(metadata)
             else:
                 self._metadata = metadata
         else:
             self._metadata = self.metadata
 
         self.init()
 
     def init(self):
         pass
 
     def get_default_value(self):
         """Create a new instance of the default value."""
         return self.default_value
 
     def instance_init(self, obj):
         """This is called by :meth:`HasTraits.__new__` to finish init'ing.
 
         Some stages of initialization must be delayed until the parent
         :class:`HasTraits` instance has been created.  This method is
         called in :meth:`HasTraits.__new__` after the instance has been
         created.
 
         This method trigger the creation and validation of default values
         and also things like the resolution of str given class names in
         :class:`Type` and :class`Instance`.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
         obj : :class:`HasTraits` instance
             The parent :class:`HasTraits` instance that has just been
             created.
         """
         self.set_default_value(obj)
 
     def set_default_value(self, obj):
         """Set the default value on a per instance basis.
 
         This method is called by :meth:`instance_init` to create and
         validate the default value.  The creation and validation of
         default values must be delayed until the parent :class:`HasTraits`
         class has been instantiated.
         """
         # Check for a deferred initializer defined in the same class as the
         # trait declaration or above.
         mro = type(obj).mro()
         meth_name = '_%s_default' % self.name
         for cls in mro[:mro.index(self.this_class)+1]:
             if meth_name in cls.__dict__:
                 break
         else:
             # We didn't find one. Do static initialization.
             dv = self.get_default_value()
             newdv = self._validate(obj, dv)
             obj._trait_values[self.name] = newdv
             return
         # Complete the dynamic initialization.
         obj._trait_dyn_inits[self.name] = meth_name
     
     def __get__(self, obj, cls=None):
         """Get the value of the trait by self.name for the instance.
 
         Default values are instantiated when :meth:`HasTraits.__new__`
         is called.  Thus by the time this method gets called either the
         default value or a user defined value (they called :meth:`__set__`)
         is in the :class:`HasTraits` instance.
         """
         if obj is None:
             return self
         else:
             try:
                 value = obj._trait_values[self.name]
             except KeyError:
                 # Check for a dynamic initializer.
                 if self.name in obj._trait_dyn_inits:
                     method = getattr(obj, obj._trait_dyn_inits[self.name])
                     value = method()
                     # FIXME: Do we really validate here?
                     value = self._validate(obj, value)
                     obj._trait_values[self.name] = value
                     return value
                 else:
                     raise TraitError('Unexpected error in TraitType: '
                         'both default value and dynamic initializer are '
                         'absent.')
             except Exception:
                 # HasTraits should call set_default_value to populate
                 # this.  So this should never be reached.
                 raise TraitError('Unexpected error in TraitType: '
                                     'default value not set properly')
             else:
                 return value
 
     def __set__(self, obj, value):
         new_value = self._validate(obj, value)
-        old_value = self.__get__(obj)
+        try:
+            old_value = obj._trait_values[self.name]
+        except KeyError:
+            old_value = None
+
         obj._trait_values[self.name] = new_value
         try:
             silent = bool(old_value == new_value)
         except:
             # if there is an error in comparing, default to notify
             silent = False
         if silent is not True:
             # we explicitly compare silent to True just in case the equality
             # comparison above returns something other than True/False
             obj._notify_trait(self.name, old_value, new_value)
 
     def _validate(self, obj, value):
         if value is None and self.allow_none:
             return value
         if hasattr(self, 'validate'):
             return self.validate(obj, value)
         elif hasattr(self, 'is_valid_for'):
             valid = self.is_valid_for(value)
             if valid:
                 return value
             else:
                 raise TraitError('invalid value for type: %r' % value)
         elif hasattr(self, 'value_for'):
             return self.value_for(value)
         else:
             return value
 
     def __or__(self, other):
         if isinstance(other, Union):
             return Union([self] + other.trait_types)
         else:
             return Union([self, other])
 
     def info(self):
         return self.info_text
 
     def error(self, obj, value):
         if obj is not None:
             e = "The '%s' trait of %s instance must be %s, but a value of %s was specified." \
                 % (self.name, class_of(obj),
                    self.info(), repr_type(value))
         else:
             e = "The '%s' trait must be %s, but a value of %r was specified." \
                 % (self.name, self.info(), repr_type(value))
         raise TraitError(e)
 
     def get_metadata(self, key, default=None):
         return getattr(self, '_metadata', {}).get(key, default)
 
     def set_metadata(self, key, value):
         getattr(self, '_metadata', {})[key] = value
 
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # The HasTraits implementation
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 class MetaHasTraits(type):
     """A metaclass for HasTraits.
 
     This metaclass makes sure that any TraitType class attributes are
     instantiated and sets their name attribute.
     """
 
     def __new__(mcls, name, bases, classdict):
         """Create the HasTraits class.
 
         This instantiates all TraitTypes in the class dict and sets their
         :attr:`name` attribute.
         """
         # print "MetaHasTraitlets (mcls, name): ", mcls, name
         # print "MetaHasTraitlets (bases): ", bases
         # print "MetaHasTraitlets (classdict): ", classdict
         for k,v in iteritems(classdict):
             if isinstance(v, TraitType):
                 v.name = k
             elif inspect.isclass(v):
                 if issubclass(v, TraitType):
                     vinst = v()
                     vinst.name = k
                     classdict[k] = vinst
         return super(MetaHasTraits, mcls).__new__(mcls, name, bases, classdict)
 
     def __init__(cls, name, bases, classdict):
         """Finish initializing the HasTraits class.
 
         This sets the :attr:`this_class` attribute of each TraitType in the
         class dict to the newly created class ``cls``.
         """
         for k, v in iteritems(classdict):
             if isinstance(v, TraitType):
                 v.this_class = cls
         super(MetaHasTraits, cls).__init__(name, bases, classdict)
 
 class HasTraits(py3compat.with_metaclass(MetaHasTraits, object)):
 
     def __new__(cls, *args, **kw):
         # This is needed because object.__new__ only accepts
         # the cls argument.
         new_meth = super(HasTraits, cls).__new__
         if new_meth is object.__new__:
             inst = new_meth(cls)
         else:
             inst = new_meth(cls, **kw)
         inst._trait_values = {}
         inst._trait_notifiers = {}
         inst._trait_dyn_inits = {}
         # Here we tell all the TraitType instances to set their default
         # values on the instance.
         for key in dir(cls):
             # Some descriptors raise AttributeError like zope.interface's
             # __provides__ attributes even though they exist.  This causes
             # AttributeErrors even though they are listed in dir(cls).
             try:
                 value = getattr(cls, key)
             except AttributeError:
                 pass
             else:
                 if isinstance(value, TraitType):
                     value.instance_init(inst)
 
         return inst
 
     def __init__(self, *args, **kw):
         # Allow trait values to be set using keyword arguments.
         # We need to use setattr for this to trigger validation and
         # notifications.
         for key, value in iteritems(kw):
             setattr(self, key, value)
 
     def _notify_trait(self, name, old_value, new_value):
 
         # First dynamic ones
         callables = []
         callables.extend(self._trait_notifiers.get(name,[]))
         callables.extend(self._trait_notifiers.get('anytrait',[]))
 
         # Now static ones
         try:
             cb = getattr(self, '_%s_changed' % name)
         except:
             pass
         else:
             callables.append(cb)
 
         # Call them all now
         for c in callables:
             # Traits catches and logs errors here.  I allow them to raise
             if callable(c):
                 argspec = inspect.getargspec(c)
                 nargs = len(argspec[0])
                 # Bound methods have an additional 'self' argument
                 # I don't know how to treat unbound methods, but they
                 # can't really be used for callbacks.
                 if isinstance(c, types.MethodType):
                     offset = -1
                 else:
                     offset = 0
                 if nargs + offset == 0:
                     c()
                 elif nargs + offset == 1:
                     c(name)
                 elif nargs + offset == 2:
                     c(name, new_value)
                 elif nargs + offset == 3:
                     c(name, old_value, new_value)
                 else:
                     raise TraitError('a trait changed callback '
                                         'must have 0-3 arguments.')
             else:
                 raise TraitError('a trait changed callback '
                                     'must be callable.')
 
 
     def _add_notifiers(self, handler, name):
         if name not in self._trait_notifiers:
             nlist = []
             self._trait_notifiers[name] = nlist
         else:
             nlist = self._trait_notifiers[name]
         if handler not in nlist:
             nlist.append(handler)
 
     def _remove_notifiers(self, handler, name):
         if name in self._trait_notifiers:
             nlist = self._trait_notifiers[name]
             try:
                 index = nlist.index(handler)
             except ValueError:
                 pass
             else:
                 del nlist[index]
 
     def on_trait_change(self, handler, name=None, remove=False):
         """Setup a handler to be called when a trait changes.
 
         This is used to setup dynamic notifications of trait changes.
 
         Static handlers can be created by creating methods on a HasTraits
         subclass with the naming convention '_[traitname]_changed'.  Thus,
         to create static handler for the trait 'a', create the method
         _a_changed(self, name, old, new) (fewer arguments can be used, see
         below).
 
         Parameters
         ----------
         handler : callable
             A callable that is called when a trait changes.  Its
             signature can be handler(), handler(name), handler(name, new)
             or handler(name, old, new).
         name : list, str, None
             If None, the handler will apply to all traits.  If a list
             of str, handler will apply to all names in the list.  If a
             str, the handler will apply just to that name.
         remove : bool
             If False (the default), then install the handler.  If True
             then unintall it.
         """
         if remove:
             names = parse_notifier_name(name)
             for n in names:
                 self._remove_notifiers(handler, n)
         else:
             names = parse_notifier_name(name)
             for n in names:
                 self._add_notifiers(handler, n)
 
     @classmethod
     def class_trait_names(cls, **metadata):
         """Get a list of all the names of this class' traits.
 
         This method is just like the :meth:`trait_names` method,
         but is unbound.
         """
         return cls.class_traits(**metadata).keys()
 
     @classmethod
     def class_traits(cls, **metadata):
         """Get a `dict` of all the traits of this class.  The dictionary
         is keyed on the name and the values are the TraitType objects.
 
         This method is just like the :meth:`traits` method, but is unbound.
 
         The TraitTypes returned don't know anything about the values
         that the various HasTrait's instances are holding.
 
         The metadata kwargs allow functions to be passed in which
         filter traits based on metadata values.  The functions should
         take a single value as an argument and return a boolean.  If
         any function returns False, then the trait is not included in
         the output.  This does not allow for any simple way of
         testing that a metadata name exists and has any
         value because get_metadata returns None if a metadata key
         doesn't exist.
         """
         traits = dict([memb for memb in getmembers(cls) if
                      isinstance(memb[1], TraitType)])
 
         if len(metadata) == 0:
             return traits
 
         for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items():
             if type(meta_eval) is not FunctionType:
                 metadata[meta_name] = _SimpleTest(meta_eval)
 
         result = {}
         for name, trait in traits.items():
             for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items():
                 if not meta_eval(trait.get_metadata(meta_name)):
                     break
             else:
                 result[name] = trait
 
         return result
 
     def trait_names(self, **metadata):
         """Get a list of all the names of this class' traits."""
         return self.traits(**metadata).keys()
 
     def traits(self, **metadata):
         """Get a `dict` of all the traits of this class.  The dictionary
         is keyed on the name and the values are the TraitType objects.
 
         The TraitTypes returned don't know anything about the values
         that the various HasTrait's instances are holding.
 
         The metadata kwargs allow functions to be passed in which
         filter traits based on metadata values.  The functions should
         take a single value as an argument and return a boolean.  If
         any function returns False, then the trait is not included in
         the output.  This does not allow for any simple way of
         testing that a metadata name exists and has any
         value because get_metadata returns None if a metadata key
         doesn't exist.
         """
         traits = dict([memb for memb in getmembers(self.__class__) if
                      isinstance(memb[1], TraitType)])
 
         if len(metadata) == 0:
             return traits
 
         for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items():
             if type(meta_eval) is not FunctionType:
                 metadata[meta_name] = _SimpleTest(meta_eval)
 
         result = {}
         for name, trait in traits.items():
             for meta_name, meta_eval in metadata.items():
                 if not meta_eval(trait.get_metadata(meta_name)):
                     break
             else:
                 result[name] = trait
 
         return result
 
     def trait_metadata(self, traitname, key, default=None):
         """Get metadata values for trait by key."""
         try:
             trait = getattr(self.__class__, traitname)
         except AttributeError:
             raise TraitError("Class %s does not have a trait named %s" %
                                 (self.__class__.__name__, traitname))
         else:
             return trait.get_metadata(key, default)
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Actual TraitTypes implementations/subclasses
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # TraitTypes subclasses for handling classes and instances of classes
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 class ClassBasedTraitType(TraitType):
     """
     A trait with error reporting and string -> type resolution for Type,
     Instance and This.
     """
 
     def _resolve_string(self, string):
         """
         Resolve a string supplied for a type into an actual object.
         """
         return import_item(string)
 
     def error(self, obj, value):
         kind = type(value)
         if (not py3compat.PY3) and kind is InstanceType:
             msg = 'class %s' % value.__class__.__name__
         else:
             msg = '%s (i.e. %s)' % ( str( kind )[1:-1], repr( value ) )
 
         if obj is not None:
             e = "The '%s' trait of %s instance must be %s, but a value of %s was specified." \
                 % (self.name, class_of(obj),
                    self.info(), msg)
         else:
             e = "The '%s' trait must be %s, but a value of %r was specified." \
                 % (self.name, self.info(), msg)
 
         raise TraitError(e)
 
 
 class Type(ClassBasedTraitType):
     """A trait whose value must be a subclass of a specified class."""
 
     def __init__ (self, default_value=None, klass=None, allow_none=True, **metadata ):
         """Construct a Type trait
 
         A Type trait specifies that its values must be subclasses of
         a particular class.
 
         If only ``default_value`` is given, it is used for the ``klass`` as
         well.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
         default_value : class, str or None
             The default value must be a subclass of klass.  If an str,
             the str must be a fully specified class name, like 'foo.bar.Bah'.
             The string is resolved into real class, when the parent
             :class:`HasTraits` class is instantiated.
         klass : class, str, None
             Values of this trait must be a subclass of klass.  The klass
             may be specified in a string like: 'foo.bar.MyClass'.
             The string is resolved into real class, when the parent
             :class:`HasTraits` class is instantiated.
         allow_none : boolean
             Indicates whether None is allowed as an assignable value. Even if
             ``False``, the default value may be ``None``.
         """
         if default_value is None:
             if klass is None:
                 klass = object
         elif klass is None:
             klass = default_value
 
         if not (inspect.isclass(klass) or isinstance(klass, py3compat.string_types)):
             raise TraitError("A Type trait must specify a class.")
 
         self.klass       = klass
 
         super(Type, self).__init__(default_value, allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         """Validates that the value is a valid object instance."""
         if isinstance(value, py3compat.string_types):
             try:
                 value = self._resolve_string(value)
             except ImportError:
                 raise TraitError("The '%s' trait of %s instance must be a type, but "
                                 "%r could not be imported" % (self.name, obj, value))
         try:
             if issubclass(value, self.klass):
                 return value
         except:
             pass
 
         self.error(obj, value)
 
     def info(self):
         """ Returns a description of the trait."""
         if isinstance(self.klass, py3compat.string_types):
             klass = self.klass
         else:
             klass = self.klass.__name__
         result = 'a subclass of ' + klass
         if self.allow_none:
             return result + ' or None'
         return result
 
     def instance_init(self, obj):
         self._resolve_classes()
         super(Type, self).instance_init(obj)
 
     def _resolve_classes(self):
         if isinstance(self.klass, py3compat.string_types):
             self.klass = self._resolve_string(self.klass)
         if isinstance(self.default_value, py3compat.string_types):
             self.default_value = self._resolve_string(self.default_value)
 
     def get_default_value(self):
         return self.default_value
 
 
 class DefaultValueGenerator(object):
     """A class for generating new default value instances."""
 
     def __init__(self, *args, **kw):
         self.args = args
         self.kw = kw
 
     def generate(self, klass):
         return klass(*self.args, **self.kw)
 
 
 class Instance(ClassBasedTraitType):
     """A trait whose value must be an instance of a specified class.
 
     The value can also be an instance of a subclass of the specified class.
 
     Subclasses can declare default classes by overriding the klass attribute
     """
 
     klass = None
 
     def __init__(self, klass=None, args=None, kw=None,
                  allow_none=True, **metadata ):
         """Construct an Instance trait.
 
         This trait allows values that are instances of a particular
         class or its subclasses.  Our implementation is quite different
         from that of enthough.traits as we don't allow instances to be used
         for klass and we handle the ``args`` and ``kw`` arguments differently.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
         klass : class, str
             The class that forms the basis for the trait.  Class names
             can also be specified as strings, like 'foo.bar.Bar'.
         args : tuple
             Positional arguments for generating the default value.
         kw : dict
             Keyword arguments for generating the default value.
         allow_none : bool
             Indicates whether None is allowed as a value.
 
         Notes
         -----
         If both ``args`` and ``kw`` are None, then the default value is None.
         If ``args`` is a tuple and ``kw`` is a dict, then the default is
         created as ``klass(*args, **kw)``.  If exactly one of ``args`` or ``kw`` is
         None, the None is replaced by ``()`` or ``{}``, respectively.
         """
         if klass is None:
             klass = self.klass
         
         if (klass is not None) and (inspect.isclass(klass) or isinstance(klass, py3compat.string_types)):
             self.klass = klass
         else:
             raise TraitError('The klass attribute must be a class'
                                 ' not: %r' % klass)
 
         # self.klass is a class, so handle default_value
         if args is None and kw is None:
             default_value = None
         else:
             if args is None:
                 # kw is not None
                 args = ()
             elif kw is None:
                 # args is not None
                 kw = {}
 
             if not isinstance(kw, dict):
                 raise TraitError("The 'kw' argument must be a dict or None.")
             if not isinstance(args, tuple):
                 raise TraitError("The 'args' argument must be a tuple or None.")
 
             default_value = DefaultValueGenerator(*args, **kw)
 
         super(Instance, self).__init__(default_value, allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, self.klass):
             return value
         else:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
     def info(self):
         if isinstance(self.klass, py3compat.string_types):
             klass = self.klass
         else:
             klass = self.klass.__name__
         result = class_of(klass)
         if self.allow_none:
             return result + ' or None'
 
         return result
 
     def instance_init(self, obj):
         self._resolve_classes()
         super(Instance, self).instance_init(obj)
 
     def _resolve_classes(self):
         if isinstance(self.klass, py3compat.string_types):
             self.klass = self._resolve_string(self.klass)
 
     def get_default_value(self):
         """Instantiate a default value instance.
 
         This is called when the containing HasTraits classes'
         :meth:`__new__` method is called to ensure that a unique instance
         is created for each HasTraits instance.
         """
         dv  = self.default_value
         if isinstance(dv, DefaultValueGenerator):
             return dv.generate(self.klass)
         else:
             return dv
 
 
 class ForwardDeclaredMixin(object):
     """
     Mixin for forward-declared versions of Instance and Type.
     """
     def _resolve_string(self, string):
         """
         Find the specified class name by looking for it in the module in which
         our this_class attribute was defined.
         """
         modname = self.this_class.__module__
         return import_item('.'.join([modname, string]))
 
 
 class ForwardDeclaredType(ForwardDeclaredMixin, Type):
     """
     Forward-declared version of Type.
     """
     pass
 
 
 class ForwardDeclaredInstance(ForwardDeclaredMixin, Instance):
     """
     Forward-declared version of Instance.
     """
     pass
 
 
 class This(ClassBasedTraitType):
     """A trait for instances of the class containing this trait.
 
     Because how how and when class bodies are executed, the ``This``
     trait can only have a default value of None.  This, and because we
     always validate default values, ``allow_none`` is *always* true.
     """
 
     info_text = 'an instance of the same type as the receiver or None'
 
     def __init__(self, **metadata):
         super(This, self).__init__(None, **metadata)
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         # What if value is a superclass of obj.__class__?  This is
         # complicated if it was the superclass that defined the This
         # trait.
         if isinstance(value, self.this_class) or (value is None):
             return value
         else:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class Union(TraitType):
     """A trait type representing a Union type."""
 
     def __init__(self, trait_types, **metadata):
         """Construct a Union  trait.
 
         This trait allows values that are allowed by at least one of the
         specified trait types.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
         trait_types: sequence
             The list of trait types of length at least 1.
 
         Notes
         -----
         Union([Float(), Bool(), Int()]) attempts to validate the provided values
         with the validation function of Float, then Bool, and finally Int.
         """
         self.trait_types = trait_types
         self.info_text = " or ".join([tt.info_text for tt in self.trait_types])
         self.default_value = self.trait_types[0].get_default_value()
         super(Union, self).__init__(**metadata)
 
     def instance_init(self, obj):
         for trait_type in self.trait_types:
             trait_type.name = self.name
             trait_type.this_class = self.this_class
             if hasattr(trait_type, '_resolve_classes'):
                 trait_type._resolve_classes()
         super(Union, self).instance_init(obj)
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         for trait_type in self.trait_types:
             try:
                 return trait_type._validate(obj, value)
             except TraitError:
                 continue
         self.error(obj, value)
 
     def __or__(self, other):
         if isinstance(other, Union):
             return Union(self.trait_types + other.trait_types)
         else:
             return Union(self.trait_types + [other])
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Basic TraitTypes implementations/subclasses
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 class Any(TraitType):
     default_value = None
     info_text = 'any value'
 
 
 class Int(TraitType):
     """An int trait."""
 
     default_value = 0
     info_text = 'an int'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, int):
             return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 class CInt(Int):
     """A casting version of the int trait."""
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         try:
             return int(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 if py3compat.PY3:
     Long, CLong = Int, CInt
     Integer = Int
 else:
     class Long(TraitType):
         """A long integer trait."""
 
         default_value = 0
         info_text = 'a long'
 
         def validate(self, obj, value):
             if isinstance(value, long):
                 return value
             if isinstance(value, int):
                 return long(value)
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 
     class CLong(Long):
         """A casting version of the long integer trait."""
 
         def validate(self, obj, value):
             try:
                 return long(value)
             except:
                 self.error(obj, value)
 
     class Integer(TraitType):
         """An integer trait.
 
         Longs that are unnecessary (<= sys.maxint) are cast to ints."""
 
         default_value = 0
         info_text = 'an integer'
 
         def validate(self, obj, value):
             if isinstance(value, int):
                 return value
             if isinstance(value, long):
                 # downcast longs that fit in int:
                 # note that int(n > sys.maxint) returns a long, so
                 # we don't need a condition on this cast
                 return int(value)
             if sys.platform == "cli":
                 from System import Int64
                 if isinstance(value, Int64):
                     return int(value)
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class Float(TraitType):
     """A float trait."""
 
     default_value = 0.0
     info_text = 'a float'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, float):
             return value
         if isinstance(value, int):
             return float(value)
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class CFloat(Float):
     """A casting version of the float trait."""
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         try:
             return float(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 class Complex(TraitType):
     """A trait for complex numbers."""
 
     default_value = 0.0 + 0.0j
     info_text = 'a complex number'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, complex):
             return value
         if isinstance(value, (float, int)):
             return complex(value)
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class CComplex(Complex):
     """A casting version of the complex number trait."""
 
     def validate (self, obj, value):
         try:
             return complex(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 # We should always be explicit about whether we're using bytes or unicode, both
 # for Python 3 conversion and for reliable unicode behaviour on Python 2. So
 # we don't have a Str type.
 class Bytes(TraitType):
     """A trait for byte strings."""
 
     default_value = b''
     info_text = 'a bytes object'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, bytes):
             return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class CBytes(Bytes):
     """A casting version of the byte string trait."""
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         try:
             return bytes(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class Unicode(TraitType):
     """A trait for unicode strings."""
 
     default_value = u''
     info_text = 'a unicode string'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, py3compat.unicode_type):
             return value
         if isinstance(value, bytes):
             try:
                 return value.decode('ascii', 'strict')
             except UnicodeDecodeError:
                 msg = "Could not decode {!r} for unicode trait '{}' of {} instance."
                 raise TraitError(msg.format(value, self.name, class_of(obj)))
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class CUnicode(Unicode):
     """A casting version of the unicode trait."""
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         try:
             return py3compat.unicode_type(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class ObjectName(TraitType):
     """A string holding a valid object name in this version of Python.
 
     This does not check that the name exists in any scope."""
     info_text = "a valid object identifier in Python"
 
     if py3compat.PY3:
         # Python 3:
         coerce_str = staticmethod(lambda _,s: s)
 
     else:
         # Python 2:
         def coerce_str(self, obj, value):
             "In Python 2, coerce ascii-only unicode to str"
             if isinstance(value, unicode):
                 try:
                     return str(value)
                 except UnicodeEncodeError:
                     self.error(obj, value)
             return value
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         value = self.coerce_str(obj, value)
 
         if isinstance(value, string_types) and py3compat.isidentifier(value):
             return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 class DottedObjectName(ObjectName):
     """A string holding a valid dotted object name in Python, such as A.b3._c"""
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         value = self.coerce_str(obj, value)
 
         if isinstance(value, string_types) and py3compat.isidentifier(value, dotted=True):
             return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class Bool(TraitType):
     """A boolean (True, False) trait."""
 
     default_value = False
     info_text = 'a boolean'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, bool):
             return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class CBool(Bool):
     """A casting version of the boolean trait."""
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         try:
             return bool(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)
 
 
 class Enum(TraitType):
     """An enum that whose value must be in a given sequence."""
 
     def __init__(self, values, default_value=None, allow_none=True, **metadata):
         self.values = values
         super(Enum, self).__init__(default_value, allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if value in self.values:
                 return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
     def info(self):
         """ Returns a description of the trait."""
         result = 'any of ' + repr(self.values)
         if self.allow_none:
             return result + ' or None'
         return result
 
 class CaselessStrEnum(Enum):
     """An enum of strings that are caseless in validate."""
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if not isinstance(value, py3compat.string_types):
             self.error(obj, value)
 
         for v in self.values:
             if v.lower() == value.lower():
                 return v
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 class Container(Instance):
     """An instance of a container (list, set, etc.)
 
     To be subclassed by overriding klass.
     """
     klass = None
     _cast_types = ()
     _valid_defaults = SequenceTypes
     _trait = None
 
     def __init__(self, trait=None, default_value=None, allow_none=True,
                 **metadata):
         """Create a container trait type from a list, set, or tuple.
 
         The default value is created by doing ``List(default_value)``,
         which creates a copy of the ``default_value``.
 
         ``trait`` can be specified, which restricts the type of elements
         in the container to that TraitType.
 
         If only one arg is given and it is not a Trait, it is taken as
         ``default_value``:
 
         ``c = List([1,2,3])``
 
         Parameters
         ----------
 
         trait : TraitType [ optional ]
             the type for restricting the contents of the Container.  If unspecified,
             types are not checked.
 
         default_value : SequenceType [ optional ]
             The default value for the Trait.  Must be list/tuple/set, and
             will be cast to the container type.
 
         allow_none : Bool [ default True ]
             Whether to allow the value to be None
 
         **metadata : any
             further keys for extensions to the Trait (e.g. config)
 
         """
         # allow List([values]):
         if default_value is None and not is_trait(trait):
             default_value = trait
             trait = None
 
         if default_value is None:
             args = ()
         elif isinstance(default_value, self._valid_defaults):
             args = (default_value,)
         else:
             raise TypeError('default value of %s was %s' %(self.__class__.__name__, default_value))
 
         if is_trait(trait):
             self._trait = trait() if isinstance(trait, type) else trait
             self._trait.name = 'element'
         elif trait is not None:
             raise TypeError("`trait` must be a Trait or None, got %s"%repr_type(trait))
 
         super(Container,self).__init__(klass=self.klass, args=args,
                                   allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
     def element_error(self, obj, element, validator):
         e = "Element of the '%s' trait of %s instance must be %s, but a value of %s was specified." \
             % (self.name, class_of(obj), validator.info(), repr_type(element))
         raise TraitError(e)
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, self._cast_types):
             value = self.klass(value)
         value = super(Container, self).validate(obj, value)
         if value is None:
             return value
 
         value = self.validate_elements(obj, value)
 
         return value
 
     def validate_elements(self, obj, value):
         validated = []
         if self._trait is None or isinstance(self._trait, Any):
             return value
         for v in value:
             try:
                 v = self._trait._validate(obj, v)
             except TraitError:
                 self.element_error(obj, v, self._trait)
             else:
                 validated.append(v)
         return self.klass(validated)
 
     def instance_init(self, obj):
         if isinstance(self._trait, TraitType):
             self._trait.this_class = self.this_class
         if hasattr(self._trait, 'instance_init'):
             self._trait.instance_init(obj)
         super(Container, self).instance_init(obj)
 
 
 class List(Container):
     """An instance of a Python list."""
     klass = list
     _cast_types = (tuple,)
 
     def __init__(self, trait=None, default_value=None, minlen=0, maxlen=sys.maxsize,
                 allow_none=True, **metadata):
         """Create a List trait type from a list, set, or tuple.
 
         The default value is created by doing ``List(default_value)``,
         which creates a copy of the ``default_value``.
 
         ``trait`` can be specified, which restricts the type of elements
         in the container to that TraitType.
 
         If only one arg is given and it is not a Trait, it is taken as
         ``default_value``:
 
         ``c = List([1,2,3])``
 
         Parameters
         ----------
 
         trait : TraitType [ optional ]
             the type for restricting the contents of the Container.  If unspecified,
             types are not checked.
 
         default_value : SequenceType [ optional ]
             The default value for the Trait.  Must be list/tuple/set, and
             will be cast to the container type.
 
         minlen : Int [ default 0 ]
             The minimum length of the input list
 
         maxlen : Int [ default sys.maxsize ]
             The maximum length of the input list
 
         allow_none : Bool [ default True ]
             Whether to allow the value to be None
 
         **metadata : any
             further keys for extensions to the Trait (e.g. config)
 
         """
         self._minlen = minlen
         self._maxlen = maxlen
         super(List, self).__init__(trait=trait, default_value=default_value,
                                 allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
     def length_error(self, obj, value):
         e = "The '%s' trait of %s instance must be of length %i <= L <= %i, but a value of %s was specified." \
             % (self.name, class_of(obj), self._minlen, self._maxlen, value)
         raise TraitError(e)
 
     def validate_elements(self, obj, value):
         length = len(value)
         if length < self._minlen or length > self._maxlen:
             self.length_error(obj, value)
 
         return super(List, self).validate_elements(obj, value)
     
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         value = super(List, self).validate(obj, value)
 
         value = self.validate_elements(obj, value)
 
         return value
         
 
 
 class Set(List):
     """An instance of a Python set."""
     klass = set
     _cast_types = (tuple, list)
 
 class Tuple(Container):
     """An instance of a Python tuple."""
     klass = tuple
     _cast_types = (list,)
 
     def __init__(self, *traits, **metadata):
         """Tuple(*traits, default_value=None, allow_none=True, **medatata)
 
         Create a tuple from a list, set, or tuple.
 
         Create a fixed-type tuple with Traits:
 
         ``t = Tuple(Int, Str, CStr)``
 
         would be length 3, with Int,Str,CStr for each element.
 
         If only one arg is given and it is not a Trait, it is taken as
         default_value:
 
         ``t = Tuple((1,2,3))``
 
         Otherwise, ``default_value`` *must* be specified by keyword.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
 
         *traits : TraitTypes [ optional ]
             the tsype for restricting the contents of the Tuple.  If unspecified,
             types are not checked. If specified, then each positional argument
             corresponds to an element of the tuple.  Tuples defined with traits
             are of fixed length.
 
         default_value : SequenceType [ optional ]
             The default value for the Tuple.  Must be list/tuple/set, and
             will be cast to a tuple. If `traits` are specified, the
             `default_value` must conform to the shape and type they specify.
 
         allow_none : Bool [ default True ]
             Whether to allow the value to be None
 
         **metadata : any
             further keys for extensions to the Trait (e.g. config)
 
         """
         default_value = metadata.pop('default_value', None)
         allow_none = metadata.pop('allow_none', True)
 
         # allow Tuple((values,)):
         if len(traits) == 1 and default_value is None and not is_trait(traits[0]):
             default_value = traits[0]
             traits = ()
 
         if default_value is None:
             args = ()
         elif isinstance(default_value, self._valid_defaults):
             args = (default_value,)
         else:
             raise TypeError('default value of %s was %s' %(self.__class__.__name__, default_value))
 
         self._traits = []
         for trait in traits:
             t = trait() if isinstance(trait, type) else trait
             t.name = 'element'
             self._traits.append(t)
 
         if self._traits and default_value is None:
             # don't allow default to be an empty container if length is specified
             args = None
         super(Container,self).__init__(klass=self.klass, args=args,
                                   allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
     def validate_elements(self, obj, value):
         if not self._traits:
             # nothing to validate
             return value
         if len(value) != len(self._traits):
             e = "The '%s' trait of %s instance requires %i elements, but a value of %s was specified." \
                 % (self.name, class_of(obj), len(self._traits), repr_type(value))
             raise TraitError(e)
 
         validated = []
         for t,v in zip(self._traits, value):
             try:
                 v = t._validate(obj, v)
             except TraitError:
                 self.element_error(obj, v, t)
             else:
                 validated.append(v)
         return tuple(validated)
 
 
 class Dict(Instance):
     """An instance of a Python dict."""
 
     def __init__(self, default_value=None, allow_none=True, **metadata):
         """Create a dict trait type from a dict.
 
         The default value is created by doing ``dict(default_value)``,
         which creates a copy of the ``default_value``.
         """
         if default_value is None:
             args = ((),)
         elif isinstance(default_value, dict):
             args = (default_value,)
         elif isinstance(default_value, SequenceTypes):
             args = (default_value,)
         else:
             raise TypeError('default value of Dict was %s' % default_value)
 
         super(Dict,self).__init__(klass=dict, args=args,
                                   allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
 
 class EventfulDict(Instance):
     """An instance of an EventfulDict."""
 
     def __init__(self, default_value=None, allow_none=True, **metadata):
         """Create a EventfulDict trait type from a dict.
 
         The default value is created by doing 
         ``eventful.EvenfulDict(default_value)``, which creates a copy of the 
         ``default_value``.
         """
         if default_value is None:
             args = ((),)
         elif isinstance(default_value, dict):
             args = (default_value,)
         elif isinstance(default_value, SequenceTypes):
             args = (default_value,)
         else:
             raise TypeError('default value of EventfulDict was %s' % default_value)
 
         super(EventfulDict, self).__init__(klass=eventful.EventfulDict, args=args,
                                   allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
 
 class EventfulList(Instance):
     """An instance of an EventfulList."""
 
     def __init__(self, default_value=None, allow_none=True, **metadata):
         """Create a EventfulList trait type from a dict.
 
         The default value is created by doing 
         ``eventful.EvenfulList(default_value)``, which creates a copy of the 
         ``default_value``.
         """
         if default_value is None:
             args = ((),)
         else:
             args = (default_value,)
 
         super(EventfulList, self).__init__(klass=eventful.EventfulList, args=args,
                                   allow_none=allow_none, **metadata)
 
 
 class TCPAddress(TraitType):
     """A trait for an (ip, port) tuple.
 
     This allows for both IPv4 IP addresses as well as hostnames.
     """
 
     default_value = ('127.0.0.1', 0)
     info_text = 'an (ip, port) tuple'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         if isinstance(value, tuple):
             if len(value) == 2:
                 if isinstance(value[0], py3compat.string_types) and isinstance(value[1], int):
                     port = value[1]
                     if port >= 0 and port <= 65535:
                         return value
         self.error(obj, value)
 
 class CRegExp(TraitType):
     """A casting compiled regular expression trait.
 
     Accepts both strings and compiled regular expressions. The resulting
     attribute will be a compiled regular expression."""
 
     info_text = 'a regular expression'
 
     def validate(self, obj, value):
         try:
             return re.compile(value)
         except:
             self.error(obj, value)