errors in python files

[Skaperen]

something i want to be able to do in Python is something that was easy in Pike from it's MUD game origins. Class identifiers were source file paths. you could instantiate an object from that class. when doing so it would check if the source file had been updated or had never been loaded before, and if so, read in the new source and compile it. if the compile failed, the caller would get back an error. i don't remember the details but you could get all the diagnostic info about the error. this was essential in a multi-player game with many wizards (those with the power to code new objects in the game). such failures would not bring down the game. a web server was also made in the original game architecture. everyone who was making web pages was made a wizard so they could code. Python has all the elements to do the same thing. i am wondering if anyone has put things together this way. in particular i am interested in a server that just keeps running as its development takes place through the server itself (no shell accounts).