Python context manager to swallow the given exception types (or all exceptions by default)

gistfile1.py

class swallow(object):
    """
    This is a context manager (use via 'with' syntax) that will
    'swallow' any Exceptions of the given type within the block
    being managed.

    If nothing is passed to the context manager constructor, then
    *any* `Exception` generated within the block will be swallowed.

    The cosntructor arg is the same format as the 2nd arg of the
    `issubclass(..)` builtin, ie: an Exception class or a tuple
    of Exception classes.
    """

    def __init__(self, exc_type=Exception):
        self.exc_type = exc_type
 
    def __enter__(self): pass
 
    def __exit__(self, exc_type, *args):
        if exc_type is not None and issubclass(exc_type, self.exc_type):
            return True   # Exception will be swallowed - see PEP-0343
 
        return False