This document discusses Python classes and inheritance. Key points include defining classes to represent different object types, implementing classes versus using classes, class variables and instances, getters and setters, information hiding, inheritance hierarchies where subclasses inherit from parent classes, and overriding and extending parent class methods. Inheritance allows subclasses to inherit attributes and behaviors from parent classes while also adding more specific attributes and behaviors.
This document discusses Python classes and inheritance. Key points include defining classes to represent different object types, implementing classes versus using classes, class variables and instances, getters and setters, information hiding, inheritance hierarchies where subclasses inherit from parent classes, and overriding and extending parent class methods. Inheritance allows subclasses to inherit attributes and behaviors from parent classes while also adding more specific attributes and behaviors.
This document discusses Python classes and inheritance. Key points include defining classes to represent different object types, implementing classes versus using classes, class variables and instances, getters and setters, information hiding, inheritance hierarchies where subclasses inherit from parent classes, and overriding and extending parent class methods. Inheritance allows subclasses to inherit attributes and behaviors from parent classes while also adding more specific attributes and behaviors.
This document discusses Python classes and inheritance. Key points include defining classes to represent different object types, implementing classes versus using classes, class variables and instances, getters and setters, information hiding, inheritance hierarchies where subclasses inherit from parent classes, and overriding and extending parent class methods. Inheritance allows subclasses to inherit attributes and behaviors from parent classes while also adding more specific attributes and behaviors.
● More on classes ○ Getters and setters ○ Information hiding ○ Class variables ● Inheritance
2 Implementing the Class vs Using the Class ● Write code from two different perspectives
Implementing a new object type with Using the new object type in code a class ● Create instances of the object ● Define the class type ● Define data attributes (WHAT IS ● Do operations with them the object) ● Define methods (HOW TO use the object)
3 Class definition of an object type vs Instance of a class
● class name is the type ● Instance is one specific object
○ class Coordinate(object) ○ coord = Coordinate(1,2) ● class is defined generically ● Data attribute values vary ○ Use self to refer to some between instances instance while defining the ○ c1 = Coordinate(1,2) class ○ c2 = coordinate(3,4) ■ (self.x - self.y)**2 ● c1 and c2 have different data ○ self is a parameter to methods attribute values c1.x and c2.x in class definition because they are different ● class defines data and methods objects common across all instances ● Instance has the structure of the class
4 Why use OOP and classes of objects? (recap)
● Mimic real life
● group different objects part of the same type
5 Groups of objects have attributes (recap)
● Data attributes ○ How can you represent your object with data ○ What it is ■ For a coordinate: x and y values ■ For an animal: age, name ● Procedural attributes (behaviour/operations/methods) ○ How can someone interact with the object? ○ What it does? ■ For a coordinate: find distance between two ■ For an animal: make a sound
6 How to define a class (recap)
7 Getter and Setter methods
8 An instance and Dot Notation (recap)
● Instantiation creates an instance of an object
○ a = Animal(3) ● dot notation used to access attributes (data and methods) though it is better to use getters and setters to access data attributes ○ a.age - access data attribute, allowed, but not recommended ○ a.get_age() - access method, best to use getters and setters
9 Information Hiding
● Author of class definition may change data
attribute variable names ● If you are accessing data attributes outside the class and class definition changes, may get errors ● Outside of class, use getters and setters instead ○ Use a.get_age() NOT a.age ■ Good style ■ Easy to maintain code ■ Prevents bugs
10 Python not great at information hiding
● Allows you to access data from outside
class definition ○ print(a.age) ● Allows you to write to data from outside class definition ○ a.age = ‘infinite’ ● Allows you to create data attributes for an instance from outside class definition ○ a.size = “tiny” ● It’s not good style to do any of these!
11 Default arguments
● Default arguments for formal parameters are used if
no actual argument is given
● Default arguments used here
● Argument passed in is used here
12 Hierarchies
13 Hierarchies
● parent class (superclass)
● child class (subclass) ○ Inherits all data and behaviours of parent class ○ Add more info ○ Add more behaviour ○ Override behaviour
14 Inheritance: Parent Class and Subclass
15 Inheritance subclass explained
● Add new functionality with
speak() ○ Instance of type Cat can be called with new methods ○ Instance of type Animal throws errors if called with Cat’s new method ● __init__ is not missing, uses the Animal version
16 Which methods to use?
● Subclass can have methods with same name as
superclass ● For an instance of a class, look for method name in current class definition ● If not found, look for method name up the hierarchy (if parent, then grandparent, and so on) ● Use first method up the hierarchy that you found with that method name
17 18 19 Class variables and the Rabbit Subclass
● Class variables and their values are shared between all
instances of a class
● Tag used to give unique id to each new rabbit instance
20 Rabbit getter methods
21 Working with your own types
● Define +operator between two Rabbit instances
○ Define what something like this does: r4 = r1 + r2, where r1 and r2 are rabbit instances ○ r4 is a new Rabbit instance with age 0 ○ r4 has self as one parent and other as the other parent ○ in __init__, parent1 and parent2 are of type Rabbit.
22 Special method to compare two rabbits ● Decide that two rabbits are equal if they have the same two parents
● Compare ids of parents since ids are unique (due to class
var) ● Note you can’t compare objects directly ○ For ex. With self.parent1 == other.parent1 ○ This calls the __eq__ method over and over until call it None and gives an AttributeError when it tries to do None.parent1. 23 Object Oriented Programming Summary
● Create your own collections of data
● Organize information ● Division of work ● Access information in a consistent manner ● Add layers of complexity ● Like functions, classes are a mechanism for decomposition and abstraction in programming.
