I want to set some constants as members of a class and I feel this is the wrong way to do it:
class Unit:
def __init__(self, SYMBOL=None, RATIO_TO_METER=None):
self._symbol = SYMBOL
self._ratio_to_meter = RATIO_TO_METER
def __repr__(self):
return self._symbol
class Inch(Unit):
SYMBOL = 'in'
RATIO_TO_METER = 0.0254
class Metre(Unit):
SYMBOL = 'm'
RATIO_TO_METER = 1
class Yard(Unit):
SYMBOL = 'yd'
RATIO_TO_METER = 0.9144
For instance the __repr__ method returns None. It seems to execute when Unit instantiates and not when I would like to, namely when self._symbol has received a value.
I could make it work by having an __init__ method in each child class but that would not be DRY.
What is the right to do it?
You already set class attributes, there is no need to pass those into __init__. Just use the class attributes directly:
class Unit:
SYMBOL = None
RATIO_TO_METER = None
def __repr__(self):
return self.SYMBOL
class Inch(Unit):
SYMBOL = 'in'
RATIO_TO_METER = 0.0254
class Metre(Unit):
SYMBOL = 'm'
RATIO_TO_METER = 1
class Yard(Unit):
SYMBOL = 'yd'
RATIO_TO_METER = 0.9144
There is little point in setting instance attributes; you already have direct access to the class attributes.
Related
I want to create a class in python that includes class level constants for special instances of the class. i.e. something like this:
class Testing:
SPECIAL = Testing("special")
def __init__(self, name):
self.name = name
def test_specials():
norm = Testing("norm")
assert norm.name == "norm"
assert Testing.SPECIAL.name == "special"
If I try the above code, it fails saying: NameError: name 'Testing' is not defined.
How should I model this?
Thanks to Anthony for the answer above. The solution is this:
class Testing:
def __init__(self, name):
self.name = name
Testing.SPECIAL = Testing("special")
def test_specials():
norm = Testing("norm")
assert norm.name == "norm"
assert Testing.SPECIAL.name == "special"
I'm struggling to solve with this problem.
I'd like to have the name variable to be like a pointer to the value of self.model.name. If the value of _class.model.name is changed the _class.name should change accordingly.
Can't find a way to basically map dynamically the Class attributes with any Model attributes without inheriting.
class Model(object):
name = 'foo'
parent = 'foo_p'
class Class(object):
model_class = Model
def __init__(self):
self.model = self.model_class()
setattr(self, 'name', self.model.name)
_class = Class()
print _class.model.name # foo
_class.model.name = 'foo_1'
print _class.name # this should be foo_1
Thanks!
Use a property to create a single dynamically computed attributes:
class Class(object):
_model_class = Model
#property
def name(self):
return Class._model_class.name
This causes all instances of Class to run the name method whenever the attribute name is looked up. This allows the value to be dynamically computed on each lookup.
_class = Class()
print(_class.name) # 'foo'
Model.name = 'bar'
print(_class.name) # 'bar'
If you want to dynamically fetch many or all attributes from somewhere else, consider using __getattr__:
class Class(object):
_model_class = Model
def __getattr__(self, name):
# name is a *string* containing the name of the attribute to fetch
return getattr(Class._model_class, name)
The __getattr__ is only triggered for attributes that are not on the class/instance. This makes it rather straightforward to use with manually defined attributes. Note that you can use arbitrary code to restrict what is fetched - e.g. raise AttributeError if name is not in some whitelist.
Along with MisterMiyagi's answer - but in case you want to still want to keep the concerns separated (even though it really doesn't seem like you do)
class Class(object):
model_class = Model
def __init__(self):
self.model = self.model_class()
setattr(self, 'name', self.model.name)
# This is what we'll be changing
#property
def model_name(self):
return self.model.name
# This method will get called whenever we change the model_name
#model_name.setter
def model_name(self, new_name):
self.model.name = new_name
self.name = new_name
_class = Class()
_class.model_name # foo
_class.model_name = "bar" # both _class.model.name == bar and _class.name == bar now
Just a simple class definition withh subclasses to show inheritance
import datetime
class LibaryItem: #The base class definition
def __init__(self, t, a, i): # initialiser method
self.__Title = t
self.__Author_Artist = a
self.__ItemID = i
self.__OnLoan = False
self.DueDate = datetime.date.today()
def GetTitle(self):
return(self.__Title)
# All other Get methods go here
def Borrowing(self):
self.__OnLoan = True
self.__DueDate = self.__DueDate + datetime.timedelta(weeks = 3)
def Returning(self):
self.OnLoan = False
def PrintDetails(self):
print(self.__Title, '; ', self.__Author_Artist,'; ',end='') # end='' Appends a space instead of a newline
print(self.__ItemID, '; ', self.__OnLoan,'; ', self.__DueDate)
class Book(LibaryItem):# A subclass definition
def __init__(self, t, a, i): # Initialiser method
LibaryItem.__init__(self, t, a, i)
# This statement calls the constructor for the base class
self.__IsRequested = False
self.__RequestBy = 0
def GetIsRequested(self):
return(self.__IsRequested)
class CD(LibaryItem):
def __init__(self, t, a, i): # Initialiser method
LibaryItem.__init__(self, t, a, i)
self.__Genre = ""
def GetGenre(self):
return(self.__Genre)
def SetGenre(self, g):
self.__Genre = g
Instantiating a subclass
ThisBook = Book('Title', 'Author', 'ItemID')
ThisCD = CD('Title', 'Author', 'ItemID')
This is my problem here I don't understand why the ThisBook the object's attribute doesn't change from False its default value to True.
# Using A method
print(ThisBook.GetIsRequested())
ThisBook.IsRequested = True
print(ThisBook.GetIsRequested())
Thank you a reason to why this doesn't work would be helpful
You probably meant to do
ThisBook.__IsRequested = True
which you can't do because of name mangling. You could write another setter.
But before you dive too deeply into writing a lot of getters and setters you should be aware that the pythonic way is to not use them. Or, if additional logic is required, to use the #property decorator.
class LibaryItem:
def __init__(self, title, author, itemid): # initialiser method
self.title = title
self.author = author
self.itemid = itemid
self._onloan = False
self.duedate = datetime.date.today()
#property
def onloan(self):
return self._onloan
#onloan.setter
def onloan(self, value):
if value:
self.duedate += datetime.timedelta(weeks = 3)
self._onloan = value
def __str__(self):
return "%s; %s; %s; %s; %s" % (self.title, self.author, self.itemid, self.onloan, self.duedate)
class Book(LibaryItem):
def __init__(self, title, author, itemid):
LibaryItem.__init__(self, title, author, itemid)
self.requested = False
self.requestby = 0
and then
ThisBook = Book('Title', 'Author', 'ItemID')
print(ThisBook.requested)
ThisBook.requested = True
ThisBook.onloan = True
print(ThisBook.duedate)
You can't access a field with 2 underscores prefix like that (see What is the meaning of a single- and a double-underscore before an object name?).
You need to write a proper setter:
def SetIsRequested(self, val):
self.__IsRequested = val
What you are experiencing is the typical silliness of dynamic languages. A field on class can be set w/o being declared and the interpreter can't help you by pointing out that you've just created a new field called "IsRequested" in your class. Saves you some typing but costs you in ability of your interpreter and IDE to prevent you from messing up.
I am trying to define a generic base class Geometry, with a unique id for each object starting at 0. I am using init as the method.
I am trying to create a generic base class named Geometry that I will use to organize geometry objects like point or polygon and containing an id attribute starting at 0. I know all of the objects should have a unique ID. I'm using the constructor (__init__) when creating a new Geometry object (integer). And would like for the base class to automatically assign the ID of the Geometry object.
Current code:
class Geometry(object):
def__init__(self,id):
self.id = id
I think I am on the right path but I am not positive. Should I have id = 0 above def__init__(self,id)?
Any guidance will be appreciated.
If the first line of your class is id = 0 then it becomes a class attribute and is shared by all instances of Geometry and all of its children.
Here is an example of using a class scoped variable:
#!/usr/bin/env python2
class Geometry(object):
# ident is a class scoped variable, better known as Geometry.ident
ident = 0
def __init__(self):
self.ident = Geometry.ident
Geometry.ident += 1
class Circle(Geometry):
def __init__(self, radius):
Geometry.__init__(self)
self.radius = radius
def __str__(self):
return '<Circle ident={}, {}>'.format(self.ident, self.radius)
class Equilateral(Geometry):
def __init__(self, sides, length):
# super is another way to call Geometry.__init__() without
# needing the name of the parent class
super(Equilateral, self).__init__()
self.sides = sides
self.length = length
def __str__(self):
return '<Equilateral ident={}, {}, {}>'.format(self.ident,
self.sides, self.length)
# test that ident gets incremented between calls to Geometry.__init__()
c = Circle(12)
e = Equilateral(3, 8)
f = Circle(11)
print c
assert c.ident == 0
print e
assert e.ident == 1
print f
assert f.ident == 2
Something feels wrong about this, though I've not put my finger on it.
class Geometry(object):
def __init__(self,id=0):
self.id = id
__init__ in python is invoked when you create an instance of that class
circle = Geometry(1)
I'm new to Python - and just trying to better understand the logic behind certain things.
Why would I write this way (default variables are in __init__):
class Dawg:
def __init__(self):
self.previousWord = ""
self.root = DawgNode()
self.uncheckedNodes = []
self.minimizedNodes = {}
def insert( self, word ):
#...
def finish( self ):
#...
Instead of this:
class Dawg:
previousWord = ""
root = DawgNode()
uncheckedNodes = []
minimizedNodes = {}
def insert( self, word ):
#...
def finish( self ):
#...
I mean - why do I need to use __init__ -> if I can just as easily add default variables to a class directly?
When you create variables in the Class, then they are Class variables (They are common to all the objects of the class), when you initialize the variables in __init__ with self.variable_name = value then they are created per instance and called instance variables.
For example,
class TestClass(object):
variable = 1
var_1, var_2 = TestClass(), TestClass()
print var_1.variable is var_2.variable
# True
print TestClass.variable is var_1.variable
# True
Since variable is a class variable, the is operator evaluates to True. But, in case of instance variables,
class TestClass(object):
def __init__(self, value):
self.variable = value
var_1, var_2 = TestClass(1), TestClass(2)
print var_1.variable is var_2.variable
# False
print TestClass.variable is var_1.variable
# AttributeError: type object 'TestClass' has no attribute 'variable'
And you cannot access an instance variable, with just the class name.
When you write this:
class Dawg:
previousWord = ""
root = DawgNode()
uncheckedNodes = []
minimizedNodes = {}
Those are not instance variables, they're class variables (meaning: the same variables with the same values are shared between all instances of the class.) On the other hand, this:
class Dawg:
def __init__(self):
self.previousWord = ""
self.root = DawgNode()
self.uncheckedNodes = []
self.minimizedNodes = {}
... Is declaring instance variables, meaning: the values are different for each instance of the class. As you see, each snippet means a completely different thing, and you have to pick the one that is appropriate for you. Hint: most of the time you're interested in instance variables, because class variables define a kind of shared global state for your objects, which is error prone.