reflection - Python: changing methods and attributes at runtime

Question

I wish to create a class in Python that I can add and remove attributes and methods. How can I acomplish that?

Oh, and please don't ask why.

Answer 1

This example shows the differences between adding a method to a class and to an instance.

>>> class Dog():
...     def __init__(self, name):
...             self.name = name
...
>>> skip = Dog('Skip')
>>> spot = Dog('Spot')
>>> def talk(self):
...     print 'Hi, my name is ' + self.name
...
>>> Dog.talk = talk # add method to class
>>> skip.talk()
Hi, my name is Skip
>>> spot.talk()
Hi, my name is Spot
>>> del Dog.talk # remove method from class
>>> skip.talk() # won't work anymore
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
AttributeError: Dog instance has no attribute 'talk'
>>> import types
>>> f = types.MethodType(talk, skip, Dog)
>>> skip.talk = f # add method to specific instance
>>> skip.talk()
Hi, my name is Skip
>>> spot.talk() # won't work, since we only modified skip
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
AttributeError: Dog instance has no attribute 'talk'