choosing between Modules and Classes

Question

In my application I have to maintain some global application state and global application wide methods like currently connected users, total number of answers, create an application config file etc. There are two options:

1. Make a separate appstate.py file with global variables with functions over them. It looks fine initially but it seems that I am missing something in clarity of my code.

2. Create a class AppState with class functions in a appstate.py file, all other modules have been defined by their specific jobs. This looks fine. But now I have to write longer line like appstate.AppState.get_user_list(). Moreover, the methods are not so much related to each other. I can create separate classes but that would be too many classes.

EDIT: If I use classes I will be using classmethods. I don't think there is a need to instantiate the class to an object.

Answer 1

Sounds like the classic conundrum :-).

In Python, there's nothing dirty or shameful about choosing to use a module if that's the best approach. After all, modules, functions, and the like are, in fact, first-class citizens in the language, and offer introspection and properties that many other programming languages offer only by the use of objects.

The way you've described your options, it kinda sounds like you're not too crazy about a class-based approach in this case.

I don't know if you've used the Django framework, but if not, have a look at the documentation on how it handle settings. These are app-wide, they are defined in a module, and they are available globally. The way it parses the options and expose them globally is quite elegant, and you may find such an approach inspiring for your needs.