09 classes
Classes¶
Object-oriented programming is one of the most effective approaches to writing software. In object-oriented programming you write classes that represent real-world things and situations, and you create objects based on these classes. When you write a class, you define the general behavior that a whole category of objects can have. When you create individual objects from the class, each object is automatically equipped with the general behavior; you can then give each object whatever unique traits you desire. You’ll be amazed how well real-world situations can be modeled with object-oriented programming.
Making an object from a class is called instantiation, and you work with instances of a class. In this chapter you’ll write classes and create instances of those classes. You’ll specify the kind of information that can be stored in instances, and you’ll define actions that can be taken with these instances. You’ll also write classes that extend the functionality of existing classes, so similar classes can share code efficiently. You’ll store your classes in modules and import classes written by other programmers into your own program files.
Understanding object-oriented programming will help you see the world as a programmer does. It’ll help you really know your code, not just what’s happening line by line, but also the bigger concepts behind it. Knowing the logic behind classes will train you to think logically so you can write programs that effectively address almost any problem you encounter.
Classes also make life easier for you and the other programmers you’ll work with as you take on increasingly complex challenges. When you and other programmers write code based on the same kind of logic, you’ll be able to understand each other’s work. Your programs will make sense to many collaborators, allowing everyone to accomplish more.
CREATING AND USING A CLASS ¶
You can model almost anything using classes. Let’s start by writing a simple class, Dog, that represents a dog—not one dog in particular, but any dog. What do we know about most pet dogs? Well, they all have a name and age. We also know that most dogs sit and roll over. Those two pieces of information (name and age) and those two behaviors (sit and roll over) will go in our Dog class because they’re common to most dogs. This class will tell Python how to make an object representing a dog. After our class is written, we’ll use it to make individual instances, each of which represents one specific dog.
Creating the Dog Class¶
Each instance created from the Dog class will store a name and an age, and we’ll give each dog the ability to sit() and roll_over():
class Dog:
"""A simple attempt to model a dog."""
def __init__(self, name, age):
"""Initialize name and age attributes."""
self.name = name
self.age = age
def sit(self):
"""Simulate a dog sitting in response to a command."""
print(f"{self.name} is now sitting.")
def roll_over(self):
"""Simulate rolling over in response to a command."""
print(f"{self.name} rolled over!")
There’s a lot to notice here, but don’t worry. You’ll see this structure throughout this chapter and have lots of time to get used to it. At ➊ we define a class called Dog. By convention, capitalized names refer to classes in Python. There are no parentheses in the class definition because we’re creating this class from scratch. At ➋ we write a docstring describing what this class does.
The __init__() Method¶
A function that’s part of a class is a method. Everything you learned about functions applies to methods as well; the only practical difference for now is the way we’ll call methods. The __init__() method at ➌ is a special method that Python runs automatically whenever we create a new instance based on the Dog class. This method has two leading underscores and two trailing underscores, a convention that helps prevent Python’s default method names from conflicting with your method names. Make sure to use two underscores on each side of __init__(). If you use just one on each side, the method won’t be called automatically when you use your class, which can result in errors that are difficult to identify.
We define the __init__() method to have three parameters: self, name, and age. The self parameter is required in the method definition, and it must come first before the other parameters. It must be included in the definition because when Python calls this method later (to create an instance of Dog), the method call will automatically pass the self argument. Every method call associated with an instance automatically passes self, which is a reference to the instance itself; it gives the individual instance access to the attributes and methods in the class. When we make an instance of Dog, Python will call the __init__() method from the Dog class. We’ll pass Dog() a name and an age as arguments; self is passed automatically, so we don’t need to pass it. Whenever we want to make an instance from the Dog class, we’ll provide values for only the last two parameters, name and age.
The two variables defined at ➍ each have the prefix self. Any variable prefixed with self is available to every method in the class, and we’ll also be able to access these variables through any instance created from the class. The line self.name = name takes the value associated with the parameter name and assigns it to the variable name, which is then attached to the instance being created. The same process happens with self.age = age. Variables that are accessible through instances like this are called attributes.
The Dog class has two other methods defined: sit() and roll_over() ➎. Because these methods don’t need additional information to run, we just define them to have one parameter, self. The instances we create later will have access to these methods. In other words, they’ll be able to sit and roll over. For now, sit() and roll_over() don’t do much. They simply print a message saying the dog is sitting or rolling over. But the concept can be extended to realistic situations: if this class were part of an actual computer game, these methods would contain code to make an animated dog sit and roll over. If this class was written to control a robot, these methods would direct movements that cause a robotic dog to sit and roll over.
Making an Instance from a Class¶
Think of a class as a set of instructions for how to make an instance. The class Dog is a set of instructions that tells Python how to make individual instances representing specific dogs.
Let’s make an instance representing a specific dog:
my_dog = Dog('Willie', 6)
print(f"My dog's name is {my_dog.name}.")
print(f"My dog is {my_dog.age} years old.")
My dog's name is Willie. My dog is 6 years old.
The Dog class we’re using here is the one we just wrote in the previous example. At ➊ we tell Python to create a dog whose name is 'Willie' and whose age is 6. When Python reads this line, it calls the __init__() method in Dog with the arguments 'Willie' and 6. The __init__() method creates an instance representing this particular dog and sets the name and age attributes using the values we provided. Python then returns an instance representing this dog. We assign that instance to the variable my_dog. The naming convention is helpful here: we can usually assume that a capitalized name like Dog refers to a class, and a lowercase name like my_dog refers to a single instance created from a class.
Accessing Attributes¶
To access the attributes of an instance, you use dot notation. At ➋ we access the value of my_dog’s attribute name by writing:
my_dog.name
Dot notation is used often in Python. This syntax demonstrates how Python finds an attribute’s value. Here Python looks at the instance my_dog and then finds the attribute name associated with my_dog. This is the same attribute referred to as self.name in the class Dog. At ➌ we use the same approach to work with the attribute age.
Calling Methods¶
After we create an instance from the class Dog, we can use dot notation to call any method defined in Dog. Let’s make our dog sit and roll over:
my_dog = Dog('Willie', 6)
my_dog.sit()
my_dog.roll_over()
Willie is now sitting. Willie rolled over!
To call a method, give the name of the instance (in this case, my_dog) and the method you want to call, separated by a dot. When Python reads my_dog.sit(), it looks for the method sit() in the class Dog and runs that code. Python interprets the line my_dog.roll_over() in the same way.
This syntax is quite useful. When attributes and methods have been given appropriately descriptive names like name, age, sit(), and roll_over(), we can easily infer what a block of code, even one we’ve never seen before, is supposed to do.
Creating Multiple Instances¶
You can create as many instances from a class as you need. Let’s create a second dog called your_dog:
my_dog = Dog('Willie', 6)
your_dog = Dog('Lucy', 3)
print(f"My dog's name is {my_dog.name}.")
print(f"My dog is {my_dog.age} years old.")
my_dog.sit()
print(f"\nYour dog's name is {your_dog.name}.")
print(f"Your dog is {your_dog.age} years old.")
your_dog.sit()
My dog's name is Willie. My dog is 6 years old. Willie is now sitting. Your dog's name is Lucy. Your dog is 3 years old. Lucy is now sitting.
In this example we create a dog named Willie and a dog named Lucy. Each dog is a separate instance with its own set of attributes, capable of the same set of actions.
Even if we used the same name and age for the second dog, Python would still create a separate instance from the Dog class. You can make as many instances from one class as you need, as long as you give each instance a unique variable name or it occupies a unique spot in a list or dictionary.
WORKING WITH CLASSES AND INSTANCES ¶
You can use classes to represent many real-world situations. Once you write a class, you’ll spend most of your time working with instances created from that class. One of the first tasks you’ll want to do is modify the attributes associated with a particular instance. You can modify the attributes of an instance directly or write methods that update attributes in specific ways.
The Car Class¶
Let’s write a new class representing a car. Our class will store information about the kind of car we’re working with, and it will have a method that summarizes this information:
class Car:
"""A simple attempt to represent a car."""
def __init__(self, make, model, year):
"""Initialize attributes to describe a car."""
self.make = make
self.model = model
self.year = year
def get_descriptive_name(self):
"""Return a neatly formatted descriptive name."""
long_name = f"{self.year} {self.make} {self.model}"
return long_name.title()
my_new_car = Car('audi', 'a4', 2019)
print(my_new_car.get_descriptive_name())
2019 Audi A4
Setting a Default Value for an Attribute¶
When an instance is created, attributes can be defined without being passed in as parameters. These attributes can be defined in the __init__() method, where they are assigned a default value.
Let’s add an attribute called odometer_reading that always starts with a value of 0. We’ll also add a method read_odometer() that helps us read each car’s odometer:
class Car:
"""A simple attempt to represent a car."""
def __init__(self, make, model, year):
"""Initialize attributes to describe a car."""
self.make = make
self.model = model
self.year = year
self.odometer_reading = 0
def get_descriptive_name(self):
"""Return a neatly formatted descriptive name."""
long_name = f"{self.year} {self.make} {self.model}"
return long_name.title()
def read_odometer(self):
"""Print a statement showing the car's mileage."""
print(f"This car has {self.odometer_reading} miles on it.")
my_new_car = Car('audi', 'a4', 2019)
print(my_new_car.get_descriptive_name())
my_new_car.read_odometer()
2019 Audi A4 This car has 0 miles on it.
Modifying Attribute Values¶
You can change an attribute’s value in three ways: you can change the value directly through an instance, set the value through a method, or increment the value (add a certain amount to it) through a method. Let’s look at each of these approaches.
Modifying an Attribute’s Value Directly¶
The simplest way to modify the value of an attribute is to access the attribute directly through an instance. Here we set the odometer reading to 23 directly:
my_new_car = Car('audi', 'a4', 2019)
print(my_new_car.get_descriptive_name())
my_new_car.odometer_reading = 23
my_new_car.read_odometer()
2019 Audi A4 This car has 23 miles on it.
Modifying an Attribute’s Value Through a Method¶
It can be helpful to have methods that update certain attributes for you. Instead of accessing the attribute directly, you pass the new value to a method that handles the updating internally. Here’s an example showing a method called update_odometer():
class Car:
"""A simple attempt to represent a car."""
def __init__(self, make, model, year):
"""Initialize attributes to describe a car."""
self.make = make
self.model = model
self.year = year
self.odometer_reading = 0
def get_descriptive_name(self):
"""Return a neatly formatted descriptive name."""
long_name = f"{self.year} {self.make} {self.model}"
return long_name.title()
def read_odometer(self):
"""Print a statement showing the car's mileage."""
print(f"This car has {self.odometer_reading} miles on it.")
def update_odometer(self, mileage):
"""
Set the odometer reading to the given value.
Reject the change if it attempts to roll the odometer back.
"""
self.odometer_reading = mileage
my_new_car = Car('audi', 'a4', 2019)
print(my_new_car.get_descriptive_name())
my_new_car.update_odometer(23)
my_new_car.read_odometer()
2019 Audi A4 This car has 23 miles on it.
We can extend the method update_odometer() to do additional work every time the odometer reading is modified. Let’s add a little logic to make sure no one tries to roll back the odometer reading:
class Car:
"""A simple attempt to represent a car."""
def __init__(self, make, model, year):
"""Initialize attributes to describe a car."""
self.make = make
self.model = model
self.year = year
self.odometer_reading = 0
def get_descriptive_name(self):
"""Return a neatly formatted descriptive name."""
long_name = f"{self.year} {self.make} {self.model}"
return long_name.title()
def read_odometer(self):
"""Print a statement showing the car's mileage."""
print(f"This car has {self.odometer_reading} miles on it.")
def update_odometer(self, mileage):
"""
Set the odometer reading to the given value.
Reject the change if it attempts to roll the odometer back.
"""
if mileage >= self.odometer_reading:
self.odometer_reading = mileage
else:
print("You can't roll back an odometer!")
my_new_car = Car('audi', 'a4', 2019)
print(my_new_car.get_descriptive_name())
my_new_car.update_odometer(23)
my_new_car.read_odometer()
my_new_car.update_odometer(10)
my_new_car.read_odometer()
2019 Audi A4 This car has 23 miles on it. You can't roll back an odometer! This car has 23 miles on it.
Incrementing an Attribute’s Value Through a Method¶
Sometimes you’ll want to increment an attribute’s value by a certain amount rather than set an entirely new value. Say we buy a used car and put 100 miles on it between the time we buy it and the time we register it. Here’s a method that allows us to pass this incremental amount and add that value to the odometer reading:
class Car:
"""A simple attempt to represent a car."""
def __init__(self, make, model, year):
"""Initialize attributes to describe a car."""
self.make = make
self.model = model
self.year = year
self.odometer_reading = 0
def get_descriptive_name(self):
"""Return a neatly formatted descriptive name."""
long_name = f"{self.year} {self.make} {self.model}"
return long_name.title()
def read_odometer(self):
"""Print a statement showing the car's mileage."""
print(f"This car has {self.odometer_reading} miles on it.")
def update_odometer(self, mileage):
"""
Set the odometer reading to the given value.
Reject the change if it attempts to roll the odometer back.
"""
if mileage >= self.odometer_reading:
self.odometer_reading = mileage
else:
print("You can't roll back an odometer!")
def increment_odometer(self, miles):
"""Add the given amount to the odometer reading."""
self.odometer_reading += miles
my_used_car = Car('subaru', 'outback', 2015)
print(my_used_car.get_descriptive_name())
my_used_car.update_odometer(23_500)
my_used_car.read_odometer()
my_used_car.increment_odometer(100)
my_used_car.read_odometer()
2015 Subaru Outback This car has 23500 miles on it. This car has 23600 miles on it.
THE PYTHON STANDARD LIBRARY ¶
The Python standard library is a set of modules included with every Python installation. Now that you have a basic understanding of how functions and classes work, you can start to use modules like these that other programmers have written. You can use any function or class in the standard library by including a simple import statement at the top of your file. Let’s look at one module, random, which can be useful in modeling many real-world situations.
One interesting function from the random module is randint(). This function takes two integer arguments and returns a randomly selected integer between (and including) those numbers.
Here’s how to generate a random number between 1 and 6:
from random import randint
randint(1, 6)
4
Another useful function is choice(). This function takes in a list or tuple and returns a randomly chosen element:
from random import choice
players = ['charles', 'martina', 'michael', 'florence', 'eli']
first_up = choice(players)
first_up
'florence'
STYLING CLASSES ¶
A few styling issues related to classes are worth clarifying, especially as your programs become more complicated.
Class names should be written in CamelCase. To do this, capitalize the first letter of each word in the name, and don’t use underscores. Instance and module names should be written in lowercase with underscores between words.
Every class should have a docstring immediately following the class definition. The docstring should be a brief description of what the class does, and you should follow the same formatting conventions you used for writing docstrings in functions. Each module should also have a docstring describing what the classes in a module can be used for.
You can use blank lines to organize code, but don’t use them excessively. Within a class you can use one blank line between methods, and within a module you can use two blank lines to separate classes.
If you need to import a module from the standard library and a module that you wrote, place the import statement for the standard library module first. Then add a blank line and the import statement for the module you wrote. In programs with multiple import statements, this convention makes it easier to see where the different modules used in the program come from.
SUMMARY ¶
In this chapter you learned how to write your own classes. You learned how to store information in a class using attributes and how to write methods that give your classes the behavior they need. You learned to write __init__() methods that create instances from your classes with exactly the attributes you want. You saw how to modify the attributes of an instance directly and through methods. Y
You saw how storing classes in modules and importing classes you need into the files where they’ll be used can keep your projects organized. You started learning about the Python standard library, and you saw an example based on the random module. Finally, you learned to style your classes using Python conventions.