python resettable instance method memoization decorator

Question

I'm attempting to build a decorator for an instance method of a class that will memoize the result. (This has been done a million times before) However, I'd like the option of being able to reset the memoized cache at any point (say, if something in the instance state changes, which might change the result of the method having nothing to do with its args). So, I attempted to build a decorator as a class instead of a function, so that I might have access to the cache as a class member. This led me down the path of learning about descriptors, specifically the __get__ method, which is where I'm actually stuck. My code looks like so:

import time

class memoized(object):

    def __init__(self, func):
        self.func = func
        self.cache = {}

    def __call__(self, *args, **kwargs):

        key = (self.func, args, frozenset(kwargs.iteritems()))

        try:
            return self.cache[key]
        except KeyError:
            self.cache[key] = self.func(*args, **kwargs)
            return self.cache[key]
        except TypeError:
            # uncacheable, so just return calculated value without caching
            return self.func(*args, **kwargs)

    # self == instance of memoized
    # obj == instance of my_class
    # objtype == class object of __main__.my_class
    def __get__(self, obj, objtype=None):
        """Support instance methods"""
        if obj is None:
            return self

        # new_func is the bound method my_func of my_class instance
        new_func = self.func.__get__(obj, objtype)

        # instantiates a brand new class...this is not helping us, because it's a 
        # new class each time, which starts with a fresh cache
        return self.__class__(new_func)

    # new method that will allow me to reset the memoized cache
    def reset(self):
        print "IN RESET"
        self.cache = {}

class my_class:
    @memoized
    def my_func(self, val):
        print "in my_func"
        time.sleep(2)
        return val


c = my_class()

print "should take time"
print c.my_func(55)
print

print "should be instant"
print c.my_func(55)
print

c.my_func.reset()

print "should take time"
print c.my_func(55)

Is this clear and/or possible? Each time __get__ is called, I get a brand new instance of the memoized class, which loses me the cache with actual data in it. I've been working hard with __get__, but am not making much progress.

Is there a completely separate approach to this problem that I'm completely missing? And and all advice/suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

Rather than trying to work out the mechanics of your implementation, I've taken the memoized decorator class from PythonDecoratorLibrary, and have modified it to add reset. Below is the result; the trick I've used is to add a callable reset attribute to the decorated function itself.

    class memoized2(object):
       """Decorator that caches a function's return value each time it is called.
       If called later with the same arguments, the cached value is returned, and
       not re-evaluated.
       """
       def __init__(self, func):
          self.func = func
          self.cache = {}
       def __call__(self, *args):
          try:
             return self.cache[args]
          except KeyError:
             value = self.func(*args)
             self.cache[args] = value
             return value
          except TypeError:
             # uncachable -- for instance, passing a list as an argument.
             # Better to not cache than to blow up entirely.
             return self.func(*args)
       def __repr__(self):
          """Return the function's docstring."""
          return self.func.__doc__
       def __get__(self, obj, objtype):
          """Support instance methods."""
          fn = functools.partial(self.__call__, obj)
          fn.reset = self._reset
          return fn
       def _reset(self):
          self.cache = {}


    class my_class:
        @memoized2
        def my_func(self, val):
            print "in my_func"
            time.sleep(2)
            return val


    c = my_class()

    print "should take time"
    print c.my_func(55)
    print

    print "should be instant"
    print c.my_func(55)
    print

    c.my_func.reset()

    print "should take time"
    print c.my_func(55)