Python - Class and function - python

Doing a class and finished with the rest less this one. Any guidance is appreciated. I have derived part of the question where I am stuck with to keep it short. I have also attached my working. Question as follows:
Create a class with 1 variable in it holding its own properties.
Provide the following 3 methods:
getvariable1() - use return key tp return value of property 1
setvariable1() - This should allow new value to be specified for property 1 - additional parameter needed to accept input.
printerfun() - to print values of the variables for the object.
Create your own object of the class and call get & set methods for the object created. Use printerfun() method to check if the codes works.
My working:
class animal:
horns = 2
def printerfun(self):
print getHorns()
def getHorns(self): #don't get where I should call this
return self.horns
def setHorns(horns):
self.horns = horns
animal_1 = animal()
F1 = raw_input('Please enter number of horns: ')
setHorns(F1)

Not sure what the question is, but anyway...
You should write a __init__ member function to create the initial member variables:
class animal:
def __init__(self):
self.horns = 2
Your code creates a class variable, not a normal member variable.
Then change the horns with:
animal_1.setHorns(F1)
Your code doesn't say which animal you want to change the variable to.

Related

Python 3 - Does the direct manipulation of a class' attribute override the same attribute for its objects making the attribue purely static?

While learning about how classes work in Python I came across a class definition example which behaved kind of strangely in my eyes.
The purpose of the example was to demonstrate how the behaviour of a static variable can be achieved in Python. The example was written as follows:
class MemberCounter:
members = 0
def init(self):
MemberCounter.members += 1
m1 = MemberCounter()
m1.init()
m2 = MemberCounter()
m2.init()
after setting up the class and creating the objects, I printed the values of the 'members' attribute. These were the results:
MemberCounter.members = 2
m1.members = 2
m2.members = 2
And that's when I got confused. While I was expecting for 'MemberCounter.members = 2' the two other results made no sense to me - why would both of 'm1' and 'm2' objects' 'members' value be equal to 2? I thought that both of the values should have been 0 - if the only attribute that was chaged is the 'members' attribute which was attached to the MemberCounter class why would it cause any change to the own unique 'members' value of each of the class' objects. It looks like the fact that the 'members' attribute is addresed like 'MemberCounter.members += 1' in the init() function of each object, completely overrides the unique values which m1.members and m2.members refer to and redirects their pointers to the MemberCounter.members value making all the three pointers point at the same value
==> m1.members = m2.members = MemberCounter.members.
Moreover, I have tried defining the class in an opossite way (Increasing self.members instead of MemberCounter.members):
class MemberCounter:
members = 0
def init(self):
self.members += 1
m1 = MemberCounter()
m1.init()
m2 = MemberCounter()
m2.init()
This definition yielded logical results (which got me curious about the above mentioned strange behaviour even more):
MemberCounter.members = 0
m1.members = 1
m2.members = 1
In short, I was curious about why the first class definition behaves in such a strange way? Why the mere 'MemberCounter.members += 1' statement completely erased 'm1.members' and 'm2.members' own unique value and made it equal to the MemberCounter.members value.
I hope I was able to clearly present my problem and I will be extremly happy to get an insight about this strange behaviour :)
That you can read a static attribute with instance.attribute notation as alternative to the more natural class.attribute notation, is an intended feature in Python.
From the documentation:
Both static data and static methods (in the sense of C++ or Java) are supported in Python.
For static data, simply define a class attribute. To assign a new
value to the attribute, you have to explicitly use the class name in
the assignment:
class C:
count = 0 # number of times C.__init__ called
def __init__(self):
C.count = C.count + 1
def getcount(self):
return C.count # or return self.count
c.count also refers to C.count for any c such that
isinstance(c, C) holds, unless overridden by c itself or by some
class on the base-class search path from c.__class__ back to C.
Caution: within a method of C, an assignment like self.count = 42
creates a new and unrelated instance named “count” in self’s own dict.
Rebinding of a class-static data name must always specify the class
whether inside a method or not:
C.count = 314
The paragraph just below the first code block explains your doubts. The "Caution" paragraph explains what you found logical.

Python: Getting value from calling function

In Python, is there a simple way for an invoked function to get a value from the calling function/class ? I'm not sure if I'm phrasing that right, but I'm trying to do something like this:
class MainSection(object):
def function(self):
self.var = 47 # arbitrary variable
self.secondaryObject = secondClass() # Create object of second class
self.secondaryObject.secondFunction(3) # call function in that object
and
class secondClass(object):
def secondFunction(self, input)
output = input + self.var # calculate value based on function parameter AND variable from calling function
return output
#Access self.var from MainSection
This might be my lack of knowledge about Python, but I'm having a hard time finding a clear answer here. Is the best way to do that just passing the variable I want in as another second parameter to the second class?
These are in separate files, if that makes a difference.
Is the best way to do that just passing the variable I want in as another second parameter to the second class?
Yes, especially if there's only a transient relationship between the objects:
class secondClass(object):
def secondFunction(self, input, var_from_caller)
output = input + var_from_caller # calculate value based on function parameter AND variable from calling function
return output
You can even pass around the whole object if you like:
class secondClass(object):
def secondFunction(self, input, calling_object)
output = input + calling_object.var # calculate value based on function parameter AND variable from calling function
return output
If the relationship is more permanent, you could consider storing references to the related objects in instance variables:
class MainSection(object):
def function(self):
self.var = 47 # arbitrary variable
self.secondaryObject = secondClass(self) # Create object of second class
self.secondaryObject.secondFunction(3) # call function in that object
...
class secondClass(object):
def __init__(self, my_friend):
self.related_object = my_friend
def secondFunction(self, input)
output = input + self.related_object.var # calculate value based on function parameter AND variable from calling function
return output
#Access self.var from MainSection

Why is Float object not callable?

Looking at the code I have below as an example. Why is it I get the error "Float object not callable" when using print statement 1 but not print statement 2? what do I need to do to my class if I was wanting to make print statement 1 work?
var1 = float(input())
class ExampleClass(object):
def __init__(self, thing1):
self.getThing1 = thing1
def getThing1(self):
return self.getThing1
a = ExampleClass(var1)
print(str(a.getThing1())) #print statement 1 that doesn't work
print(str(a.getThing1)) #print statement 2 that does work
You are trying to use getThing1 as a method name and an attribute. You declare a method getThing1, but then you assign self.getThing1 = thing1. So getThing1 isn't a method anymore; it's the value of thing1.
Perhaps you meant this:
class ExampleClass(object):
def __init__(self, thing1):
self.thing1 = thing1
def getThing1(self):
return self.thing1
However, getXXX methods are not the convention in Python. If you need a method wrapping your attribute, you should make it a property.
This:
class ExampleClass(object):
def __init__(self, thing1):
---> self.getThing1 = thing1
shadows this:
def getThing1(self):
return self.getThing1
Python functions are objects don't live in a distinct namepsace, so to make a long story short you cannot have an attribute and a method by the same name.
The solution is simple: don't use getThing1 as an attribute name - specially since "get" is a verb so it's a poor name for a value.
Also note that Python has a string support for computed attributes so you don't need systematic getters/setters for attributes. You can start with a plain attribute and turn it into a computed one later if the need arises.

Expressions of Class in python

In one of our homework problems, we need to write a class in python called Gate which contains the drawing and function of many different gates in a circuit. It describes as follows:
in1 = Gate("input")
out1 = Gate("output")
not1 = Gate("not")
Here in1, out1, not1 are all instances of this class. What do the ("input") ("output") ("not") mean? are they subclass or something?
We are only told that when we define a class using:
class Gate(object)
when we make an instance we use:
in1 = Gate()
I haven't seen stuff inside a () after the class name, how to understand that?
Taking into account that you pass strings as a parameter I would suggest that it is just a parameter like:
class Gate:
def __init__(self, param1):
self.param1 = param1
var1 = Gate("hello")
print var1.param1
# expected output:
# hello
To be able to say how the class Gate works one has to look into it.
What is in1 = Gate("input") this?
In short this Gate("input") is a constructor call def init.
Use for create object.
Gate() and Gate("some value") both are constructor but
1). Gate() Create a object without initialize value to particular attributes of this object.
2). Gate('some value') Create a object with a value.
And i think you need to work on some basic concept of OOPS.

How can I define a class in Python?

Quite simple, I'm learning Python, and I can't find a reference that tells me how to write the following:
public class Team {
private String name;
private String logo;
private int members;
public Team(){}
// Getters/setters
}
Later:
Team team = new Team();
team.setName("Oscar");
team.setLogo("http://....");
team.setMembers(10);
That is a class Team with the properties: name/logo/members
Edit
After a few attempts I got this:
class Team:
pass
Later
team = Team()
team.name = "Oscar"
team.logo = "http://..."
team.members = 10
Is this the Python way? It feels odd (coming from a strongly typed language of course).
Here is what I would recommend:
class Team(object):
def __init__(self, name=None, logo=None, members=0):
self.name = name
self.logo = logo
self.members = members
team = Team("Oscar", "http://...", 10)
team2 = Team()
team2.name = "Fred"
team3 = Team(name="Joe", members=10)
Some notes on this:
I declared that Team inherits from object. This makes Team a "new-style class"; this has been recommended practice in Python since it was introduced in Python 2.2. (In Python 3.0 and above, classes are always "new-style" even if you leave out the (object) notation; but having that notation does no harm and makes the inheritance explicit.) Here's a Stack Overflow discussion of new-style classes.
It's not required, but I made the initializer take optional arguments so that you can initialize the instance on one line, as I did with team and team3. These arguments are named, so you can either provide values as positional parameters (as with team) or you can use the argument= form as I did with team3. When you explicitly specify the name of the arguments, you can specify arguments in any order.
If you needed to have getter and setter functions, perhaps to check something, in Python you can declare special method functions. This is what Martin v. Löwis meant when he said "property descriptors". In Python, it is generally considered good practice to simply assign to member variables, and simply reference them to fetch them, because you can always add in the property descriptors later should you need them. (And if you never need them, then your code is less cluttered and took you less time to write. Bonus!)
Here's a good link about property descriptors: http://adam.gomaa.us/blog/2008/aug/11/the-python-property-builtin/
Note: Adam Gomaa's blog seems to have disappeared from the web. Here's a link to a saved copy at archive.org:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160407103752/http://adam.gomaa.us/blog/2008/aug/11/the-python-property-builtin/
It doesn't really matter if you specify values as part of the call to Team() or if you poke them into your class instance later. The final class instance you end up with will be identical.
team = Team("Joe", "http://example.com", 1)
team2 = Team()
team2.name = "Joe"
team2.logo = "http://example.com"
team2.members = 1
print(team.__dict__ == team2.__dict__)
The above will print True. (You can easily overload the == operator for Team instances, and make Python do the right thing when you say team == team2, but this doesn't happen by default.)
I left out one thing in the above answer. If you do the optional argument thing on the __init__() function, you need to be careful if you want to provide a "mutable" as an optional argument.
Integers and strings are "immutable". You can never change them in place; what happens instead is Python creates a new object and replaces the one you had before.
Lists and dictionaries are "mutable". You can keep the same object around forever, adding to it and deleting from it.
x = 3 # The name "x" is bound to an integer object with value 3
x += 1 # The name "x" is rebound to a different integer object with value 4
x = [] # The name "x" is bound to an empty list object
x.append(1) # The 1 is appended to the same list x already had
The key thing you need to know: optional arguments are evaluated only once, when the function is compiled. So if you pass a mutable as an optional argument in the __init__() for your class, then each instance of your class shares one mutable object. This is almost never what you want.
class K(object):
def __init__(self, lst=[]):
self.lst = lst
k0 = K()
k1 = K()
k0.lst.append(1)
print(k0.lst) # prints "[1]"
print(k1.lst) # also prints "[1]"
k1.lst.append(2)
print(k0.lst) # prints "[1, 2]"
The solution is very simple:
class K(object):
def __init__(self, lst=None):
if lst is None:
self.lst = [] # Bind lst with a new, empty list
else:
self.lst = lst # Bind lst with the provided list
k0 = K()
k1 = K()
k0.lst.append(1)
print(k0.lst) # prints "[1]"
print(k1.lst) # prints "[]"
This business of using a default argument value of None, then testing that the argument passed is None, qualifies as a Python design pattern, or at least an idiom you should master.
class Team:
def __init__(self):
self.name = None
self.logo = None
self.members = 0
In Python, you typically don't write getters and setters, unless you really have a non-trivial implementation for them (at which point you use property descriptors).
To write classes you would normally do:
class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age, height):
self.name = name
self.age = age
self.height = height
To instantiate instances of a class(es) you would do
person1 = Person("Oscar", 40, "6ft")
person2 = Team("Danny", 12, "5.2ft")
You can also set a default value:
class Person:
def __init__(self):
self.name = "Daphne"
self.age = 20
self.height = "5.4ft"
To instantiate a classes set like this, you want to do:
person3 = Person()
person3.name = "Joe"
person3.age = 23
person3.height = "5.11ft"
You will notice that this method bears a lot of similarity to your typical Python dictionary interaction.

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