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How to Write a Class in Python

In Python, classes can help to wrap up data and functionality at the same time. Several classes have already been written for us in python 3, called built-ins. Here are a few: int (integer class), str (string class), and list (list class). This article will use the principle of python code as documentation for coding as defined in Docs as Code .

Part 1
Part 1 of 2:

Introduction to Classes

  1. 1
    Open Python IDE. You can learn how to do this in Install Python.
  2. 2
    Use keyword class , followed by a space, the name of the class, and a colon. 
     class 
 Duck 
 :
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  3. 3
    Indent and add basic variables for class. To do this, press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return . Indent and write out a basic variable followed by an equal sign, and then your variable surrounded in quotes. 
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 says 
 = 
 "Quack" 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie"
  4. 4
    Access the variables by creating instances of the class.
    • In python, the dot notation is used to access methods and/or variables defined in the class.
    • An example is shown below.
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 says 
 = 
 "Quack" 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie" 
 myDuck 
 = 
 Duck 
 () 
 # Create instance of Duck class 
 what 
 = 
 myDuck 
 . 
 says 
 # Will access says variable of class Duck and 
 # assign it to the variable "what" 
 print 
 ( 
 what 
 ) 
 # Will print "Quack"
  5. 5
    Add functions to the class (these are called methods of the class).
    • This is where the functionality of classes and their ability to store values can be seen.
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 says 
 = 
 "Quack" 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie" 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 )
  6. 6
    Call the method of the class; in this case, Duck.
    • Methods use the dot notation as well:
    • Just like a normal function, use parenthesis to call the method of myDuck 
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 says 
 = 
 "Quack" 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie" 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 ) 
 my_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 () 
 my_Duck 
 . 
 fly 
 () 
 # Will print "Duck flies"
  7. 7
    Change attributes of class. 
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 says 
 = 
 "Quack" 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie" 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 ) 
 my_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 () 
 my_Duck 
 . 
 gender 
 = 
 "Female" 
 # Changes value of variable gender in my_Duck 
 # Now, printing my_Duck.gender will output "Female"
  8. 8
    Initialize the Class. Classes run an initializing function every time the programmer creates an instance of that class.
    • To create this function, add a few spaces between the first and second lines of the class and type def __init__(self): on the second line (make sure to indent).
    • In the Duck example ( self explained below):
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 says 
 = 
 'Quack' 
 self 
 . 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 self 
 . 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie" 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 ) 
 my_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 () 
 # You can still get the variables the same way, but now 
 # they are wrapped in a function - later they will be changed 
 # by other functions in class Duck.

    The self word is the instance of the Duck class that is being created. This word can be whatever the programmer wishes as long as it is the first argument of the __init__ function.

  9. 9
    Add Default Arguments to __init__ function. A class that does not take arguments of any kind is clunky. First, type this into the python console after the class definition: 
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 says 
 = 
 'Quack' 
 self 
 . 
 gender 
 = 
 "Male" 
 self 
 . 
 name 
 = 
 "Richie" 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 ) 
 my_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 () 
 my_Duck 
 . 
 says 
 = 
 'I don 
 \' 
 t want to quack' 
 my_Duck 
 . 
 gender 
 = 
 "Female" 
 my_Duck 
 . 
 name 
 = 
 'Lizz' 
 new_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 () 
 new_Duck 
 . 
 name 
 = 
 'Dude' 
 new_Duck 
 . 
 says 
 = 
 "IDK"

    There is a much better way to do the same process - in one line. This will require a little manipulation of the Duck class:

     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 , 
 says 
 = 
 'Quack' 
 , 
 gender 
 = 
 'Male' 
 , 
 name 
 = 
 'Richie' 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 says 
 = 
 says 
 self 
 . 
 gender 
 = 
 gender 
 self 
 . 
 name 
 = 
 name 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 )

    Let's delve into this example, beginning with the arguments:

    • says='Quack', gender='Male', name='Richie' - these are default arguments - if the programmer inputs something else into the function, the argument will take that value instead. If the programmer doesn't input anything, the argument takes on the value assigned to it by the = operator.
    • Finally, the variables are added to the instance of the class that is created when the programmer calls the class method.
  10. 10
    Create Instances of Class with Default Variables. For this example, we will re-create the two previous Ducks - my_Duck and new_Duck. 
     class 
 Duck 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 , 
 says 
 = 
 'Quack' 
 , 
 gender 
 = 
 'Male' 
 , 
 name 
 = 
 'Richie' 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 says 
 = 
 says 
 self 
 . 
 gender 
 = 
 gender 
 self 
 . 
 name 
 = 
 name 
 def 
 fly 
 (): 
 print 
 ( 
 'Duck flies' 
 ) 
 my_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 ( 
 'I don 
 \' 
 t want to quack' 
 , 
 'Female' 
 , 
 'Lizz' 
 ) 
 new_Duck 
 = 
 Duck 
 ( 
 'IDK' 
 , 
 name 
 = 
 'Dude' 
 ) 
 # or new_Duck = Duck('IDK', 'Male', 'Dude') 
 ''' Previous "chunky" code 
 my_Duck = Duck() 
 my_Duck.says = 'I don\'t want to quack' 
 my_Duck.gender = "Female" 
 my_Duck.name = 'Lizz' 
 new_Duck = Duck() 
 new_Duck.name = 'Dude' 
 new_Duck.says = "IDK"'''
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Part 2
Part 2 of 2:

Advanced Numerical Classes

  1. 1
    Begin the Class. This was discussed in Part 1 of this article. For our example, we will write a fraction class: 
     def 
 GCF 
 ( 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 ): 
 # Using the Euclidean Algorithm to find the greatest common factor 
 while 
 n 
 : 
 m 
 , 
 n 
 = 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 % 
 n 
 return 
 m 
 def 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ): 
 g 
 = 
 GCF 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ) 
 numerator 
 //= 
 g 
 denominator 
 //= 
 g 
 return 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 class 
 Fraction 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 , 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 = 
 1 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 = 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ) 
 myFrac 
 = 
 Fraction 
 ( 
 3 
 , 
 4 
 ) 
 # Fraction of 3/4, will not be reduced 
 print 
 ( 
 myFrac 
 )

    Output:

    <__main__.Fraction object at 0x7f5d1c0a1c40>
  2. 2
    Overwrite the __str__ and __repr__ methods. These two methods control how the instances of the class are displayed using the print function. A good programmer wants the fraction displayed when he/she types in print(myFrac) . Thus the following addition is made: 
     def 
 GCF 
 ( 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 ): 
 # Using the Euclidean Algorithm to find the greatest common factor 
 while 
 n 
 : 
 m 
 , 
 n 
 = 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 % 
 n 
 return 
 m 
 def 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ): 
 g 
 = 
 GCF 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ) 
 numerator 
 //= 
 g 
 denominator 
 //= 
 g 
 return 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 class 
 Fraction 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 , 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 = 
 1 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 = 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ) 
 def 
 __str__ 
 ( 
 self 
 ): 
 return 
 str 
 ( 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 [ 
 0 
 ]) 
 + 
 '/' 
 + 
 str 
 ( 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 [ 
 1 
 ]) 
 __repr__ 
 = 
 __str__ 
 # Assign one function to another. 
 # This is legal in python. We just renamed 
 # __str__ with __repr__ 
 myFrac 
 = 
 Fraction 
 ( 
 6 
 , 
 4 
 ) 
 # Fraction of 6/4, will be reduced to 3/2 
 print 
 ( 
 myFrac 
 )

    Output:

    3/2
  3. 3
    Add Functionality. Please refer to the Official Python Docs for a complete list of operators that can be written as functions. For the Fraction class example, we will extend the class with an addition function. The two functions that need to be written to add classes together are the __add__ and __radd__ functions. 
     def 
 GCF 
 ( 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 ): 
 # Using the Euclidean Algorithm to find the greatest common factor 
 while 
 n 
 : 
 m 
 , 
 n 
 = 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 % 
 n 
 return 
 m 
 def 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ): 
 g 
 = 
 GCF 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ) 
 numerator 
 //= 
 g 
 denominator 
 //= 
 g 
 return 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 def 
 lcm 
 ( 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 ): 
 return 
 n 
 // 
 GCF 
 ( 
 n 
 , 
 m 
 ) 
 # or m // GCF(n, m) 
 def 
 add_fractions 
 ( 
 Frac1 
 , 
 Frac2 
 ): 
 denom1 
 = 
 Frac1 
 [ 
 1 
 ] 
 denom2 
 = 
 Frac2 
 [ 
 1 
 ] 
 Frac1 
 = 
 Frac1 
 [ 
 0 
 ] 
 * 
 denom2 
 Frac2 
 = 
 Frac2 
 [ 
 0 
 ] 
 * 
 denom1 
 return 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 Frac1 
 + 
 Frac2 
 , 
 denom1 
 * 
 denom2 
 ) 
 class 
 Fraction 
 : 
 def 
 __init__ 
 ( 
 self 
 , 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 = 
 1 
 ): 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 = 
 reduce_fraction 
 ( 
 numerator 
 , 
 denominator 
 ) 
 def 
 __str__ 
 ( 
 self 
 ): 
 return 
 str 
 ( 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 [ 
 0 
 ]) 
 + 
 '/' 
 + 
 str 
 ( 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 [ 
 1 
 ]) 
 __repr__ 
 = 
 __str__ 
 # Assign one function to another. 
 # This is legal in python. We just renamed 
 # __str__ with __repr__ 
 def 
 __add__ 
 ( 
 self 
 , 
 other_object 
 ): 
 if 
 isinstance 
 ( 
 other_object 
 , 
 int 
 ): 
 # if other_object is an integer 
 return 
 self 
 + 
 Fraction 
 ( 
 other_object 
 ) 
 # Make it of the Fraction class 
 # (integers are just fractions with 1 as the denominator, after all!) 
 if 
 isinstance 
 ( 
 other_object 
 , 
 Fraction 
 ): 
 return 
 add_fractions 
 ( 
 self 
 . 
 fraction 
 , 
 other_object 
 . 
 fraction 
 ) 
 else 
 : 
 raise 
 TypeError 
 ( 
 "Not of class 'int' or class 'Fraction'" 
 ) 
 myFrac 
 = 
 Fraction 
 ( 
 6 
 , 
 4 
 ) 
 # Fraction of 6/4, will be reduced to 3/2 
 other_Frac 
 = 
 Fraction 
 ( 
 2 
 , 
 3 
 ) 
 print 
 ( 
 myFrac 
 + 
 other_Frac 
 , 
 ' 
 \n 
 ' 
 ) 
 print 
 ( 
 myFrac 
 + 
 2 
 )

    Output:

    13/6

7/2
  4. 4
    Continue Looking Around. This article has just scratched the surface on what classes can do. Another great resource for any questions is Stack OverFlow . For a challenge, go to Think Functional and write the classes.
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      Warnings

      • In order to best understand class, a programmer must first understand functions, variables, most of the data types in python...if you are struggling with any of these, please look through the related articles. If you can't find what you're looking for, ask me your question at Pythonista and I'll do my best to help.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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      Tips

      • Don't write a class if it isn't necessary. While classes can be helpful in the right context, using one in place of a normal function or simply to store variables will only make your code harder to follow.
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      References

      1. https://www.writethedocs.org/guide/docs-as-code/ - Docs as Code
      2. https://docs.python.org/3/library/operator.html - Operators as Functions
      3. https://stackoverflow.com/ - Stack Overflow
      4. https://www.thinkfunctional.net/ - Think Functional! A First Course in Algorithm Design

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