Classes In Python

Class is a very powerful feature of object-oriented programming. In Python, we first write a class to mimic any real word scenario and then create object based on this class. In this way, when we create individual object from the class, each object is automatically equipped with the general behavior of a class; however, we can give each object whatever unique features we desire.

Making an object from a class is called instantiation, and we work with instances of a class.

1. CREATING AND USING A CLASS

Let’s write our first class, Restaurant with two parameters ( restaurant_name and cuisine_type) and three methods ( __init__(), describe_restaurant and open_restaurant)

Using this class, we can write any instance with the access to these methods:

1.1. Creating a Class

class Restaurant():
    """ A class to store two attributes of a restaurant and have two methods (behaviors)"""
    def __init__(self, restaurant_name, cuisine_type):
        self.restaurant_name = restaurant_name
        self.cuisine_type = cuisine_type

    def describe_restaurant(self):
        print(f"{self.restaurant_name.title()} serves {self.cuisine_type.title()} food.")

    def open_restaurant(self):
        print(f"{self.restaurant_name.title()} is open now.")

• Method: a function that is part of a class is called method

• Special Method: __init__() is a special method and it is required. Python runs this automatically whenever we create a new object based on the class.

• Parameters of Special Method: the __init__() method have three parameters: self, restaurant_name and cuisine_type. The self parameter is required in the method definition, and it must come first, before the other parameters

• Attributes: any variable prefixed with self is called an attribute. Attributes are available to every method in the class, and we can also access these variables(attributes) through any instance created from the class.

• Other Defined Methods: the Restaurant class has two other methods: describe_restaurant and open_restaurant Because these methods don’t need additional information (parameters), we just define them to have one parameter, self.

1.2. Making instances of Class

# making instance,restaurant from the class,Restaurant
restaurant = Restaurant('arabian nights','middle eastern')

# printing attributes
print(restaurant.restaurant_name)
print(restaurant.cuisine_type)

# calling methods of the class
restaurant.describe_restaurant()
restaurant.open_restaurant()

arabian nights
middle eastern
Arabian Nights serves Middle Eastern food.
Arabian Nights is open now.

a. Making instance

restaurant = Restaurant('arabian nights','middle eastern')

• this line tells Python to create an instance(object), restaurant whose restaurant_name value is arabian nights and cuisine_type is middle eastern . When Python reads this line, it calls the __init__() method in Restaurant class with the arguments arabian nights and middle eastern

• the __init__() method creates an instance representing this particular restaurant and sets the restaurant_name and cuisine_type using the values provided

• you can create as many instances from a class as you need.

b. Accessing Attributes

print(restaurant.restaurant_name)
print(restaurant.cuisine_type)

To access these attributes value directly we use dot notation — restaurant.restaurant_name and restaurant.cuisine_type The syntax is essentially instance_name.parameter_name

c. Calling Methods

restaurant.describe_restaurant()
restaurant.open_restaurant()

We can also use dot notation to call any method defined in Restaurant — restaurant.describe_restaurant() and restaurant.open_restaurant()

d. Output

arabian nights
middle eastern
Arabian Nights serves Middle Eastern food.
Arabian Nights is open now.

2. WORKING WITH CLASSES AND INSTANCES

In this section, we will learn how to set a default value for attributes and, three ways to modify attributes value. We will use the previous example of class Restaurant in this section.

2.1. Setting a Default Value for an Attribute

Every attribute in a class needs an initial value, even if that value is 0 or an empty string. We can specify this initial value in the body of the __init__() method; *if we do set a default value for an attribute, we don’t have to include a parameter for that attribute in method definition *

Let’s add an attribute called numbers_served and set its default value to 0

class Restaurant():
    def __init__(self, restaurant_name, cuisine_type):
        self.restaurant_name = restaurant_name
        self.cuisine_type = cuisine_type
        self.numbers_served = 0

As we have specified the default value of self.numbers_served, we don’t need to mention the parameter numbers_served in the __init__()

We are going to create an instance and print the (default) attribute value for numbers_served

restaurant = Restaurant('atlas kitchen', 'chinese')
print(f"{restaurant.restaurant_name.title()} has served {restaurant.numbers_served} customers") 

Atlas Kitchen has served 0 customers

2.2. Modifying Attribute Values

We will use three methods to modify an attribute value:

a. Modifying an Attribute Value Directly

The simplest way to modify the value of an attribute is to declare the new value in the instance of the class. Here, we will modify the default value of attribute numbers_served to 100

restaurant = Restaurant('atlas kitchen', 'chinese')

# declaring new value to overwrite the default value
restaurant.numbers_served = 100
print(f"{restaurant.restaurant_name.title()} has served {restaurant.numbers_served} customers") 

Atlas Kitchen has served 100 customers

b. Modifying an attribute’s Value through a Method

Instead of modifying the attribute value directly, we can pass the new value to a method (set_numbers_served) that handles the updating internally.

Note: In the following example, we could set the new value without using if statement, but that will make the code open to errors where new value can be lower than the old value of numbers_served

---
	 def set_numbers_served(self, numbers_served):
        if numbers_served >= self.numbers_served:
            self.numbers_served = numbers_served
            print(f"{self.restaurant_name.title()} has served {self.numbers_served} customers")
        else:
            print("Numbers served can't be lower than previous value")

Then we call this new method:

restaurant = Restaurant('atlas kitchen', 'chinese')
print(f"{restaurant.restaurant_name.title()} has served {restaurant.numbers_served} customers") 

# updating numbers_served by calling method, set_numbers_served
restaurant.set_numbers_served(10)

Atlas Kitchen has served 0 customers
Atlas Kitchen has served 10 customers

c. Incrementing an attribute’s Value through a Method

Sometimes we want to increment an attribute’s value by a certain amount rather than set an entirely new value. Here’s a method that allows us to pass this incremental amount and add that value to the existing value of numbers_served

---

	def increment_numbers_served(self, increment_numbers):
        if increment_numbers >= 1:
            self.numbers_served += increment_numbers
            print(f"{self.restaurant_name.title()} has served {self.numbers_served} customers")
        else:
            print("You can't increment the value by negative number or zero")

Let’s make an instance and call this new method:

restaurant = Restaurant('atlas kitchen', 'chinese')
print(f"{restaurant.restaurant_name.title()} has served {restaurant.numbers_served} customers") 

# incrementing numbers_served by calling method, increment_numbers_served
restaurant.increment_numbers_served(5)
restaurant.increment_numbers_served(3)
restaurant.increment_numbers_served(2) 

Atlas Kitchen has served 0 customers
Atlas Kitchen has served 5 customers
Atlas Kitchen has served 8 customers
Atlas Kitchen has served 10 customers

3. INHERITANCE

• In this section we will study the parent-child class structure. If the class we are writing (child) is a specialized version of another class (parent) that we wrote before, we can use inheritance structure

• The original class is called the parent class (superclass), and the new class is the child class (subclass)

• The child class automatically inherits all attributes and methods from its parent class but at the same time, can define new attributes and methods of its own

• Rule 1: When we create a child class, the parent class must be part of the current file

• Rule 2: When we create a child class, the parent class must appear before the child class in the file

• Rule 3: The name of the parent class must be included in parentheses () in the definition of the child class

3.1. Creating Child Class from Parent Class

Let’s create a child class, IceCreamStand from parent class, Restaurant

a. Creating Child Class

# creating child class, IceCreamStand
class IceCreamStand(Restaurant):
    """ defining the parameters needed for the child class"""
    def __init__(self, restaurant_name, cuisine_type):
        """ Initializing the attributes from the parent class """
        super().__init__(restaurant_name, cuisine_type)
        # declaring attributes specific to child class
        self.flavors = []
    
    # defining method specific to child class
    def display_flavors(self):
        """ take the list of flavors provided by user and print it """
        print(f"{self.restaurant_name.title()} serves the ice cream in following flavors:")
        for self.flavor in self.flavors:
            print(self.flavor.title())

• we created the child class, IceCreamStand by providing the name of parent class, Restaurant within its parenthesis — IceCreamStand(Restaurant):

• The __init__() method takes in the required parameters from the parent class, Restaurant

• The super().__init__ function is a special function that helps Python make connections between the parent and child class. This line tells Python to call the __init__() method in parent class, which gives child class all the attributes of its parent class

• then, we defined the attribute self.flavors specific to child class. This supposed to be list, so we gave it an empty list default value []

• then, we defined a method, display_flavors(self) that is specific to child class. This method used the self.flavors attribute and print the value of each item in the list

b. Creating Instance of Child Class

# creating instance of child class
icecreamstand_1 = IceCreamStand('dairy queen', 'ice cream')

# demo: child class inherits all methods from its parent class
icecreamstand_1.describe_restaurant()

# providing child class its specific attribute and calling its specific method
icecreamstand_1.flavors = ['vanilla', 'chocolate', 'strawberry']
icecreamstand_1.display_flavors()

Dairy Queen serves Ice Cream food.
Dairy Queen serves the ice cream in following flavors:
Vanilla
Chocolate
Strawberry

• we created an instance of child class (IceCreamStand), icecreamstand_1 Arguments provided are dairy queen, and ice cream

• then we call a method, which is defined in the parent class to demonstrate how the inheritance works

• then we provided the attribute (icecreamstand_1.flavors) that is specific to child class (IceCreamStand) and call the method (icecreamstand_1.display_flavors())that is also specific to child class

3.2. Overwriting Methods from the Parent Class

We can overwrite any method from the parent class when creating a child class. To do this, we define a method in the child class with the same name as the method we want to overwrite from the parent class. Python intelligently uses the method that we defined in the child class.

3.3. Instances as Attributes

When our program start becoming lengthier and messier, we can break it down into various classes, where an instance of class can become an attribute of another class. The example below will help understand this concept:

# class to show the admin previledges
class Privileges():
    """ Print admin previledges"""
    def __init__(self):
        self.privileges = ['can add post', 'can delete post', 'can band user']

    def show_privileges(self):
        print("Admin has following privileges:")
        for self.privilege in self.privileges:
            print(self.privilege)

class User():
    """ To display the general information of a user """
    def __init__(self, first_name, last_name, gender, email_address):
        self.first_name = first_name
        self.last_name = last_name
        self.gender = gender
        self.email_address = email_address
        # attribute = instance of the class
        self.privileges = Privileges()

    def greet_user(self):
        print(f"Welcome to the website {self.first_name.title()} {self.last_name.title()}")

# making instance of 'User' class
admin_user = User('dexter', 'morgan', 'male', '[e-mail]')

# calling method of 'User' class
admin_user.greet_user()
# calling method of 'Priviledges' class 
admin_user.privileges.show_privileges()

• we first defined the class (Privileges) that will be used as an attribute in other class (User) Privileges class has only one method, show_priviledges

• then while defining the User class, we give it an attribute of privileges that takes its value from instance of Privileges class

self.privileges = Privileges()

• then we created an instance of User, named admin_user and provided the arguments

admin_user = User('dexter', 'morgan', 'male', '[e-mail]')

• finally we call the show_privileges method of Privilege class, as an attribute of User class

admin_user.privileges.show_privileges()

4. IMPORTING CLASSES

The method to import class(es) from modules is similar to what we have covered in the Part 7: Functions in Python

4.1. Importing a Single Class

In theory, we can store as many classes as we need in a single module, but it is good is each class in a module are related

a. Syntax to import

from module_name import class_name

The import statement tells Python to open the module and import the class, class_name.

b. Syntax to create instance

The syntax to create instance is same as if the class is defined in the same file

instance_name = class_name(argument1, argument2, ...)

4.2. Importing Multiple Classes from a Module

a. Syntax to import

You import multiple classes from a module by separating each class with a comma

from module_name import class_name1, class_name2

b. Syntax to create instance

The syntax to create instance is same as if the class is defined in the same file

instance_name = class_name1(argument1, argument2, ...)

4.3. Importing an Entire Module

We can also import an entire module and then access the classes you need using dot notation. Therefore, we need to use the module name whenever creating the instance

a. Syntax to import

import module_name

b. Syntax to create instance

instance_name = module_name.class_name(argument1, argument2, ...)

4.4. Importing All Classes from a Module

We can import all classes using the syntax defined in section 4.3. Then why do we need to import all classes from module using this method? Because this way, we don’t need to use the dot notation.

a. Syntax to import

from module_name import *

b. Syntax to create instance

instance_name = class_name(argument1, argument2, ...)

ALERT: This method to import classes is not recommended

4.5. Importing a Module into a Module

One module maybe dependent on other modules, therefore, at the start of file, we can import other modules and required classes, using syntax

# start of module_1 

from module_name_2 import class_name_x
from module_name_6 import class_name_y

The syntax to create instance is same as if the class is defined in the same file