Part of a partial solution to SF bugs 463378, 463381, 463383, 463384.

This almost entirely replaces how pydoc pumps out class docs, but only
in text mode (like help(whatever) from a Python shell), not in GUI mode.

A class C's attrs are now grouped by the class in which they're defined,
attrs defined by C first, then inherited attrs grouped by alphabetic order
of the defining classes' names.

Within each of those groups, the attrs are subgrouped according to whether
they're plain methods, class methods, static methods, properties, or data.
Note that pydoc never dumped class data attrs before.  If a class data
attr is implemented via a data descriptor, the data docstring (if any)
is also displayed (e.g., file.softspace).

Within a subgroup, the attrs are listed alphabetically.

This is a friggin' mess, and there are bound to be glitches.  Please
beat on it and complain!  Here are three glitches:

1. __new__ gets classifed as 'data', for some reason.  This will
   have to get fixed in inspect.py, but since the latter is already
   looking for any clue that something is a method, pydoc will
   almost certainly not know what to do with it when its classification
   changes.

2. properties are special-cased to death.  Unlike any other kind of
   function or method, they don't have a __name__ attr, so none of
   pydoc's usual code can deal with them.  Worse, the getter and
   setter and del'er methods associated with a property don't appear
   to be discoverable from Python, so there's really nothing I can
   think of to do here beyond just listing their names.

   Note that a property can't be given a docstring, either (or at least
   I've been unable to sneak one in) -- perhaps the property()
   constructor could take an optional doc argument?

3. In a nested-scopes world, pydoc still doesn't know anything about
   nesting, so e.g. classes nested in functions are effectively invisible.

Lib/pydoc.py

@@ -128,6 +128,16 @@ def allmethods(cl):
         methods[key] = getattr(cl, key)
     return methods
 
+def _split_class_attrs(attrs, predicate):
+    yes = []
+    no = []
+    for tuple in attrs:
+        if predicate(tuple):
+            yes.append(tuple)
+        else:
+            no.append(tuple)
+    return yes, no
+
 # ----------------------------------------------------- module manipulation
 
 def ispackage(path):
@@ -876,13 +886,80 @@ def makename(c, m=object.__module__): return classname(c, m)
             title = title + '(%s)' % join(parents, ', ')
 
         doc = getdoc(object)
-        contents = doc and doc + '\n'
-        methods = allmethods(object).items()
-        methods.sort()
-        for key, value in methods:
-            contents = contents + '\n' + self.document(value, key, mod, object)
+        contents = doc and [doc + '\n'] or []
+        push = contents.append
 
-        if not contents: return title + '\n'
+        def spill(msg, attrs, predicate):
+            ok, attrs = _split_class_attrs(attrs, predicate)
+            if ok:
+                push(msg)
+                for name, kind, homecls, value in ok:
+                    push(self.document(getattr(object, name),
+                                       name, mod, object))
+            return attrs
+
+        # pydoc can't make any reasonable sense of properties on its own,
+        # and it doesn't appear that the getter, setter and del'er methods
+        # are discoverable.  For now, just pump out their names.
+        def spillproperties(msg, attrs):
+            ok, attrs = _split_class_attrs(attrs, lambda t: t[1] == 'property')
+            if ok:
+                push(msg)
+                for name, kind, homecls, value in ok:
+                    push(name + '\n')
+            return attrs
+    
+        def spilldata(msg, attrs):
+            ok, attrs = _split_class_attrs(attrs, lambda t: t[1] == 'data')
+            if ok:
+                push(msg)
+                for name, kind, homecls, value in ok:
+                    doc = getattr(value, "__doc__", None)
+                    push(self.docother(getattr(object, name),
+                                       name, mod, 70, doc) + '\n')
+            return attrs
+
+        attrs = inspect.classify_class_attrs(object)
+
+        # All attrs defined in this class come first.
+        attrs, inherited = _split_class_attrs(attrs,
+                                              lambda t: t[2] is object)
+        # Sort inherited attrs by name of defining class.
+        inherited.sort(lambda t1, t2: cmp(t1[2].__name__, t2[2].__name__))
+
+        thisclass = object
+        while attrs or inherited:
+            if thisclass is object:
+                tag = "defined here"
+            else:
+                tag = "inherited from class %s" % classname(thisclass,
+                                                            object.__module__)
+
+            # Sort attrs by name.
+            attrs.sort(lambda t1, t2: cmp(t1[0], t2[0]))
+
+            # Pump out the attrs, segregated by kind.
+            attrs = spill("Methods %s:\n" % tag, attrs,
+                          lambda t: t[1] == 'method')
+            attrs = spill("Class methods %s:\n" % tag, attrs,
+                          lambda t: t[1] == 'class method')
+            attrs = spill("Static methods %s:\n" % tag, attrs,
+                          lambda t: t[1] == 'static method')
+            attrs = spillproperties("Properties %s:\n" % tag, attrs)
+            attrs = spilldata("Data %s:\n" % tag, attrs)
+            assert attrs == []
+
+            # Split off the attributes inherited from the next class (note
+            # that inherited remains sorted by class name).
+            if inherited:
+                attrs = inherited
+                thisclass = attrs[0][2]
+                attrs, inherited = _split_class_attrs(attrs,
+                                                lambda t: t[2] is thisclass)
+
+        contents = '\n'.join(contents)
+        if not contents:
+            return title + '\n'
         return title + '\n' + self.indent(rstrip(contents), ' |  ') + '\n'
 
     def formatvalue(self, object):
@@ -933,7 +1010,7 @@ def docroutine(self, object, name=None, mod=None, cl=None):
             doc = getdoc(object) or ''
             return decl + '\n' + (doc and rstrip(self.indent(doc)) + '\n')
 
-    def docother(self, object, name=None, mod=None, maxlen=None):
+    def docother(self, object, name=None, mod=None, maxlen=None, doc=None):
         """Produce text documentation for a data object."""
         repr = self.repr(object)
         if maxlen:
@@ -941,6 +1018,8 @@ def docother(self, object, name=None, mod=None, maxlen=None):
             chop = maxlen - len(line)
             if chop < 0: repr = repr[:chop] + '...'
         line = (name and self.bold(name) + ' = ' or '') + repr
+        if doc is not None:
+            line += '\n' + self.indent(str(doc))
         return line
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------- user interfaces