Object Oriented Python

Python module Y106

Exercises, examples and other material relating to training module Y106. This topic is presented on public courses Learning to program in Python, Python Programming, Intermediate Python

Python is an object oriented language. You can group code that relates to a particular type of data together into a class, with each piece of code that's defined being a method that can run on the class as a whole, or on a specific set of data (object).

Related technical and longer articles

all variables are objects
Python Calling functions and methods. Using objects and modules.
copying an object - copy the reference

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Articles and tips on this subject		updated
4028	Really Simple Class and Inheritance example in Python It's so tempting when writing a simple training example to get excited and add lots of features - so that you then end up with an example that's anything but a simple training example! Here's an example - just about my shortest and simplest ever - that shows a base class, a subclass, inheritance, polymorphism, ...	2013-03-04
4021	Spike solution, refactored and reusable, Python - Example The other day, we suffered a gap in service from one of our dedicated hosts and after the event I wanted to go through the server logs to find how long the gap was, and whether there was any unusual activity prior to the outage. Problem was - I was looking in a 60 Mbyte log file with ovr 200,000 records ...	2013-03-01
3947	this or self - what are they, and what is the difference? (Python) In any object oriented language, you'll have a number of different objects of the same type, and you'll need to be able to refer to a paricular attribute within a particular object - usually, you'll call a named piece of code (a method) on an object and need to say "on THIS object" ... let me rephrase ...	2012-12-15
3878	From Structured to Object Oriented Programming. Background A frequent comment - "I'm very used to conventional / structured programming, but I'm now trying to learn about Object Orientation and I don't understand the idea and I get baffled by all the buzzwords I hear". And a request "Can you help me?" Yes - I can help you. If you come on a course ...	2012-10-13 (longest)
3673	Object oriented or structured - a comparison in Python. Also writing clean regular expressions Should I go "object oriented" with my code, or use functional coding? That's a big question, and the answer depends on the application you'll be writing, the language you'll be writing it in, the programmers concerned, the expected life cycle of the application, and whether you'll be able to reuse ...	2012-03-31
3436	Moving from scripting to Object Orientation in Python Using what's been described as the scripting idiom, a "scripter" will write a series of code steps which perform a task from top to bottom. For a job that only involves simple data manipulation (even if there's a lot of data to have that manipulation applied), this approach can be very effective indeed ...	2011-09-14
3399	From fish, loaves and apples to money, plastic cards and BACS (Perl references explained) Money's useful stuff. Before money, transactions were undertake on a barter system; if I wanted a loaf of bread I might exchange it for a fish. If I was wanting to book passage on tthe stagecoach from the George in Melksham to London, I would have to take ia bushel of apples into my local travel agent, ...	2011-08-20
477	Class, static and unbound variables In Object Oriented programming, you'll have certain named blocks of code (usually known as methods) that you can perform on specific objects (type A), and others that you can perform on all the objects of a particular type (type B). Example. If I had a class called sandwich, I might have one method ...	2011-08-18
3085	Object Oriented Programming for Structured Programmers - conversion training I've been programming for many years; I started off with languages like Fortran and quickly learned that it's a good idea to split the code into named chunks - which were known as FUNCTIONs and SUBROUTINEs. This means that parts of a program can be tested named chunk by named chunk, that chunks can ...	2010-12-15 (longer)
2017	Python - a truly dynamic language In Python everything is an object - and that includes functions which are objects which contain blocks of code. And this means that you can define different functions of the same name depending on a condition, and you can replace a function with another one too, if you want to. This really is valid: ontop ...	2010-06-23
2604	Tips for writing a test program (Ruby / Python / Java) Where does my test code go? If you've written a class - a series of methods to be used within another application - how do you test it? How about writing a test program within the same file which runs as the main program if you run your class on its own from the command line, but is ignored if you ...	2010-01-30
2169	When should I use OO techniques? We have two friends. They're married. She's a keen advocate of Object Oriented Programming and he can't stand the approach. So take them to the pub, buy them a couple of drinks each, mention OO programming and watch the feathers fly ;-) Seriously, Object Oriented Programming has its place - and there ...	2009-05-11
1925	Introduction to Object Oriented Programming "Object Oriented Programming" is a whole new philosophy for programmers who have been writing short scripts for years, and it can be quite frightening to learn with all these new buzzwords like "overriding", "encapsulation" and "polymorphism" creeping in. It's a beautiful concept and a lovely approach, ...	2008-12-10 (longer)
1348	Screw it or Glue it? Access to Object variables - a warning If you screw two pieces of material together, you have the opportunity, later on, to unscrew them ... resuse them differently, install a waterproof membrane between them, and so on. But if you glue them together, later modification will be much harder or perhaps impossible. And in a similar way, if ...	2007-09-12
1306	Python class rattling around "Occupany Limit 230" says the room that I'm running my Python training course - for 8 delegates - in at the Watervliet Arsenal near Albany, New York State this week. Watervliet is being "demilitarised", which means that there's a whole lot of commercial companies - including the one I'm teaching - based ...	2007-08-17
900	Python - function v method What's the difference between a function and a method? A function is a named piece of code that performs an operation, and a method is a function with an extra parameter which is the object that it's to run on. Example: class hotel: def __init__(self,name,nightly): self.name = ...	2006-10-20
834	Python makes University Challenge "In computer programming terms, what does OOP signify when used in the context of languages such as Python and Java" .... I couldn't quite believe my ears when I heard Jeremy Paxman asking that question last night on University Challenge. ...	2006-08-15 (short)

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Examples from our training material

animal.py	Sample class (exercise) - animal
aper2	retaining data objects for iteration
c1	Defining and using a class - early steps
containers.py	Shapes used for items in junkroom
creatures	Exercise answer - program to test class animal
cubbyhole	Simple class - with a class variable
drink.py	definition and testing of a class
glue	Shows danger of using direct access to a member variable
longer	Saving a lambda in a variable and other tricks
pets	OO sample - definition and use of two dog objects
pyobs	test program for containers in junkroom
rr2	Object equality, identity and sameness
tabby.py	table, round table and rectangular table
wr2.py	Test application for "writer" class
wr_test.py	Test harness for writer class
writer.py	A simple class - constructor, object method and class method, no inheritance

Pictures

Classes in Python

Background information

This module is available under an Open Training Notes License for free download from http://www.training-notes.co.uk.

Topics covered in this module

What is Object Orientation and why use it?.
Using Python objects.
Creating your own classes in Python.
Method and variable naming standards.
Including a test harness in your class definition.

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