@staticmethod
def is_sequence(arg):
    """
        Checks via its hidden attribute whether the passed argument is a sequence (but
        excluding strings).
        
        Credits to Steve R. Hastings a.k.a steveha @ http://stackoverflow.com
        """
    return not hasattr(arg, 'strip') and hasattr(arg, '__getitem__'
        ) or hasattr(arg, '__iter__')
