what are methods, classes, and objects in python

Python is an object-oriented programming language Object is a collection of data and methods that perform on those data and class is a blueprint for the object (methods) so we will learn about what is object and class in python in this article.

Creating a class creates a new type of method, allowing new instances of that type to be made. All class instances can have attributes attached to it for maintaining its state. Instances of the class can also have objects for changing its state.

Class Definition Syntax:

class ClassName:
     # Statement-1  
     .
     .
     .
     # Statement-N

Example :

 # simple class  
class Colors: 

     # attributes 
     a = "Red" 
     b = "Yellow" 

     #sample method  
     def fun(self): 
         print("I am a", self.a)
         print("I am a", self.b)  

# this is a driver code 
# instantiation of Object 

 Obj1 = Colors() 
                      
 # Accessing class attributes 
 # and method through objects 
 Obj1.fun()

Defining a Class

A class in Python can be defined using the class keyword. A class typically includes the following members:

  1. Constructor
  2. Instance Attributes
  3. Class Attributes
  4. Methods

A class can also be defined without any members. The following is a person class with a doc string.

>>> class person:
…   ”’doc string: This is empty person class”’
…   pass
…

We can declare an object of the above person class as we would for any built-in class.

>>> p1=person()
>>> p2=person()

The following class includes attributes, a constructor, instance attributes/variables and methods.

Example: Class

class person:
    count=0 #class attribute
    def __init__(self): #constructor
        self.name="unknown" #instance attribute
        self.age=0 #instance attribute
    def displayInfo(self): #method
        print(self.name, self.age)

In the above example of the person class, count is a class attribute, __init__(self) is a constructor, name and age are instance attributes/variables and displayInfo is a method of the person class.

Let’s learn about each of these in detail.

Constructor

In Python, the constructor method is invoked automatically whenever a new object of a class is instantiated, same as constructors in C# or Java. The constructor must have a special name __init__() and a special parameter called self.

 Note:

The first parameter of each method in a class must be the self which refers to the calling object. However, you can give any name to the first parameter, not necessary ‘self’.

The following example defines a constructor.

Example: Constructor

class person:
    def __init__(self): # constructor method
        print('Constructor invoked')

Now, whenever you create an object of the person class, the __init__() constructor method will be called, as shown below.

>>>p1 = person()
Constructor invoked
>>>p2 = person()
Constructor invoked

The constructor in Python is used to define the attributes of an instance and assign values to them.

Instance Attributes

Instance attributes are attributes or properties attached to an instance of a class. Instance attributes are defined in the constructor.

The following example defines instance attributes name and age in the constructor.

Example: Instance Attributes

class person:
    def __init__(self): # constructor
        self.name="Unknown" # instance attribute
        self.age=0 # instance attribute

An instance attribute can be accessed using dot notation: [instance name].[attribute name], as shown below.

>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.name
Unknown
>>> p1.age
0

You can set the value of attributes using the dot notation, as shown below.

>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.name=”Bill”
>>> p1.age=25
>>> p1.name
Bill
>>> p1.age
25

You can specify the values of instance attributes through the constructor. The following constructor includes the name and age parameters, other than the self parameter.

Example: Setting Attribute Values

class person:
    def __init__(self, name, age): 
        self.name=name
        self.age=age

Now, you can specify the values while creating an instance, as shown below.

>>> p1=person(“Bill”,25)
>>> p1.name
Bill
>>> p1.age
25

 Note:

You don’t have to specify the value of the self parameter. It will be assigned internally in Python.

You can also set default values for instance attributes. The following code sets the default values of the constructor parameters. So, if the values are not provided when creating an object, they values will be assigned latter.

Example: Setting Default Values of Attributes

class person:
    def __init__(self, name="Guest", age=25)
        self.name=name
        self.age=age

Now, you can create an object with default values as shown below.

>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.name
Guest
>>> p1.age
25

Class Attributes

Class attributes are different from instance attributes. An attribute whose value is the same for all instances of a class is called a class attribute. The value of class attribute is shared by all objects. Class attributes are defined at class level rather than inside the constructor method __init__(). Unlike instance attributes, class attributes are accessed using the name of the class.

Example: Class Attribute

class person:
    greet='Hello!'

The above person class includes a class attribute called greet. This attribute can be accessed using the class name, as shown below.

>>> person.greet
Hello!

Each object of the person class can have this class attribute accessed using object.[attribute name].

>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.greet
Hello!
>>> p2=person()
Hello!

Changing the class attribute using the class name will be reflected for all the instances of a class.

>>> person.greet
Hello!
>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.greet
Hello!
>>> person.greet=’Hi!’
>>> p1.greet
Hi!

However, changing the class attribute using the instance will not reflect elsewhere. It will affect only that particular instance.

>>> person.greet
Hello!
>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.greet
Hello!
>>> p1.greet=”How are you doing?”
>>> p1.greet
How are you doing?
>>> person.greet
Hello!
>>> p2=person()
>>> p2.greet
Hello!

Consider the following example.

Example: person.py

class person:
    totalObjects=0
    def __init__(self):
        person.totalObjects=person.totalObjects+1               

In the above example, totalObject is an attribute in the person class. Whenever a new object is created, the value of totalObjects is incremented by 1. You can now access the totalObjects attribute after creating the objects, as shown below.

>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.totalObjects
1
>>> p2=person()
>>> p2.totalObjects
2

Class Methods

You can define as many methods as you want in a class using the def keyword. Each method must have the first parameter, generally named as self which refers to the calling instance.

The following example includes the displayInfo method in a person class.

Example: Class Method

class person:
    def __init__(self): 
        self.name="unknown" 
        self.age=0 
    def displayInfo(self): #method
        print(self.name, self.age)

As you can see, the instance attributes of an instance can be accessed using the self parameter and hope you find what is object and class in python from this article.

The methods of a class can be called using an instance, as show below.

>>> p1=person()
>>> p1.displayInfo()
unknown 0

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