Python programming

UNIT-4

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 Object Oriented Programming
Python has been an object-oriented language since it existed. Because of this, creating and using classes
and objects are downright easy. This chapter helps you become an expert in using Python's object-
oriented programming support.
If you do not have any previous experience with object-oriented (OO) programming, you may want to
consult an introductory course on it or at least a tutorial of some sort so that you have a grasp of the basic
concepts.
However, here is small introduction of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) to bring you at speed −

Overview of OOP Terminology

 Class − A user-defined prototype for an object that defines a set of attributes that characterize
any object of the class. The attributes are data members (class variables and instance variables)
and methods, accessed via dot notation.
 Class variable − A variable that is shared by all instances of a class. Class variables are defined
within a class but outside any of the class's methods. Class variables are not used as frequently
as instance variables are.
 Data member − A class variable or instance variable that holds data associated with a class and
its objects.
 Function overloading − The assignment of more than one behavior to a particular function. The
operation performed varies by the types of objects or arguments involved.
 Instance variable − A variable that is defined inside a method and belongs only to the current
instance of a class.
 Inheritance − The transfer of the characteristics of a class to other classes that are derived from
it.
 Instance − An individual object of a certain class. An object obj that belongs to a class Circle,
for example, is an instance of the class Circle.
 Instantiation − The creation of an instance of a class.
 Method − A special kind of function that is defined in a class definition.
 Object − A unique instance of a data structure that's defined by its class. An object comprises
both data members (class variables and instance variables) and methods.
 Operator overloading − The assignment of more than one function to a particular operator.

Creating Classes
The class statement creates a new class definition. The name of the class immediately follows the
keyword class followed by a colon as follows −
class ClassName:
'Optional class documentation string'
class_suite
 The class has a documentation string, which can be accessed via ClassName. doc .
 The class_suite consists of all the component statements defining class members, data attributes
and functions.

Example

Following is the example of a simple Python class −

class Employee:
'Common base class for all employees'
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 empCount = 0

def init (self, name, salary):

self.name = name
self.salary = salary
Employee.empCount += 1

def displayCount(self):
print "Total Employee %d" % Employee.empCount

def displayEmployee(self):
print "Name : ", self.name, ", Salary: ", self.salary
 The variable empCount is a class variable whose value is shared among all instances of a this
class. This can be accessed as Employee.empCount from inside the class or outside the class.
 The first method init () is a special method, which is called class constructor or initialization
method that Python calls when you create a new instance of this class.
 You declare other class methods like normal functions with the exception that the first argument
to each method is self. Python adds the self argument to the list for you; you do not need to
include it when you call the methods.

Creating Instance Objects

To create instances of a class, you call the class using class name and pass in whatever arguments
its init method accepts.
"This would create first object of Employee class"
emp1 = Employee("Zara", 2000)
"This would create second object of Employee class"
emp2 = Employee("Manni", 5000)

Accessing Attributes
You access the object's attributes using the dot operator with object. Class variable would be accessed
using class name as follows −
emp1.displayEmployee()
emp2.displayEmployee()
print "Total Employee %d" % Employee.empCount
Now, putting all the concepts together −
#!/usr/bin/python

class Employee:
'Common base class for all employees'
empCount = 0

def init (self, name, salary):

self.name = name
self.salary = salary
Employee.empCount += 1

def displayCount(self):
print "Total Employee %d" % Employee.empCount

def displayEmployee(self):
print "Name : ", self.name, ", Salary: ", self.salary

"This would create first object of Employee class"

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emp1 = Employee("Zara", 2000)
"This would create second object of Employee class"
emp2 = Employee("Manni", 5000)
emp1.displayEmployee()
emp2.displayEmployee()
print "Total Employee %d" % Employee.empCount
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Name : Zara ,Salary: 2000
Name : Manni ,Salary: 5000
Total Employee 2
You can add, remove, or modify attributes of classes and objects at any time −
emp1.age = 7 # Add an 'age' attribute.
emp1.age = 8 # Modify 'age' attribute.
del emp1.age # Delete 'age' attribute.
Instead of using the normal statements to access attributes, you can use the following functions −
 The getattr(obj, name[, default]) − to access the attribute of object.
 The hasattr(obj,name) − to check if an attribute exists or not.
 The setattr(obj,name,value) − to set an attribute. If attribute does not exist, then it would be
created.
 The delattr(obj, name) − to delete an attribute.
hasattr(emp1, 'age') # Returns true if 'age' attribute exists
getattr(emp1, 'age') # Returns value of 'age' attribute
setattr(emp1, 'age', 8) # Set attribute 'age' at 8
delattr(empl, 'age') # Delete attribute 'age'

Built-In Class Attributes

Every Python class keeps following built-in attributes and they can be accessed using dot operator like
any other attribute −
  dict − Dictionary containing the class's namespace.
  doc − Class documentation string or none, if undefined.
  name − Class name.
  module − Module name in which the class is defined. This attribute is " main " in
interactive mode.
  bases − A possibly empty tuple containing the base classes, in the order of their
occurrence in the base class list.
For the above class let us try to access all these attributes −
#!/usr/bin/python

class Employee:
'Common base class for all employees'
empCount = 0

def init (self, name, salary):

self.name = name
self.salary = salary
Employee.empCount += 1

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 def displayCount(self):
print "Total Employee %d" % Employee.empCount

def displayEmployee(self):
print "Name : ", self.name, ", Salary: ", self.salary

print "Employee. doc :", Employee. doc print

"Employee. name :", Employee. name print
"Employee. module :", Employee. module
print "Employee. bases :", Employee. bases
print "Employee. dict :", Employee. dict
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Employee. doc : Common base class for all employees
Employee. name : Employee
Employee. module : main
Employee. bases : ()
Employee. dict : {' module ': ' main__', 'displayCount':
<function displayCount at 0xb7c84994>, 'empCount': 2,
'displayEmployee': <function displayEmployee at 0xb7c8441c>,
' doc ': 'Common base class for all employees',
' init ': <function init at 0xb7c846bc>}

Destroying Objects (Garbage Collection)

Python deletes unneeded objects (built-in types or class instances) automatically to free the memory
space. The process by which Python periodically reclaims blocks of memory that no longer are in use is
termed Garbage Collection.
Python's garbage collector runs during program execution and is triggered when an object's reference
count reaches zero. An object's reference count changes as the number of aliases that point to it changes.
An object's reference count increases when it is assigned a new name or placed in a container (list, tuple,
or dictionary). The object's reference count decreases when it's deleted with del, its reference is
reassigned, or its reference goes out of scope. When an object's reference count reaches zero, Python
collects it automatically.
a = 40 # Create object <40>
b=a # Increase ref. count of <40>
c = [b] # Increase ref. count of <40>

del a # Decrease ref. count of <40>

b = 100 # Decrease ref. count of <40>
c[0] = -1 # Decrease ref. count of <40>
You normally will not notice when the garbage collector destroys an orphaned instance and reclaims its
space. But a class can implement the special method del (), called a destructor, that is invoked when
the instance is about to be destroyed. This method might be used to clean up any non memory resources
used by an instance.

Example

This del () destructor prints the class name of an instance that is about to be destroyed −
#!/usr/bin/python

class Point:
def init ( self, x=0, y=0):
self.x = x
self.y = y
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 def del (self):
class_name = self. class . name
print class_name, "destroyed"

pt1 = Point()
pt2 = pt1
pt3 = pt1
print id(pt1), id(pt2), id(pt3) # prints the ids of the obejcts
del pt1
del pt2
del pt3
When the above code is executed, it produces following result −
3083401324 3083401324 3083401324
Point destroyed
Note − Ideally, you should define your classes in separate file, then you should import them in your
main program file using import statement.

Class Inheritance
Instead of starting from scratch, you can create a class by deriving it from a preexisting class by listing
the parent class in parentheses after the new class name.
The child class inherits the attributes of its parent class, and you can use those attributes as if they were
defined in the child class. A child class can also override data members and methods from the parent.

Syntax

Derived classes are declared much like their parent class; however, a list of base classes to inherit from
is given after the class name −
class SubClassName (ParentClass1[, ParentClass2, ...]):
'Optional class documentation string'
class_suite

Example

#!/usr/bin/python

class Parent: # define parent class

parentAttr = 100
def init (self):
print "Calling parent constructor"

def parentMethod(self):
print 'Calling parent method'

def setAttr(self, attr):

Parent.parentAttr = attr

def getAttr(self):
print "Parent attribute :", Parent.parentAttr

class Child(Parent): # define child class

def init (self):
print "Calling child constructor"

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 def childMethod(self):
print 'Calling child method'

c = Child() # instance of child

c.childMethod() # child calls its method
c.parentMethod() # calls parent's method
c.setAttr(200) # again call parent's method
c.getAttr() # again call parent's method
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Calling child constructor
Calling child method
Calling parent method
Parent attribute : 200
Similar way, you can drive a class from multiple parent classes as follows −
class A: # define your class A
.....

class B: # define your class B

.....

class C(A, B): # subclass of A and B

.....
You can use issubclass() or isinstance() functions to check a relationships of two classes and instances.
 The issubclass(sub, sup) boolean function returns true if the given subclass sub is indeed a
subclass of the superclass sup.
 The isinstance(obj, Class) boolean function returns true if obj is an instance of class Class or is
an instance of a subclass of Class

Overriding Methods
You can always override your parent class methods. One reason for overriding parent's methods is
because you may want special or different functionality in your subclass.

Example

#!/usr/bin/python

class Parent: # define parent class

def myMethod(self):
print 'Calling parent method'

class Child(Parent): # define child class

def myMethod(self):
print 'Calling child method'

c = Child() # instance of child

c.myMethod() # child calls overridden method
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Calling child method

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 Base Overloading Methods
Following table lists some generic functionality that you can override in your own classes −

Sr.No. Method, Description & Sample Call

1
init ( self [,args...] )
Constructor (with any optional arguments)
Sample Call : obj = className(args)

2
del ( self )
Destructor, deletes an object
Sample Call : del obj

3
repr ( self )
Evaluable string representation
Sample Call : repr(obj)

4
str ( self )
Printable string representation
Sample Call : str(obj)

5
cmp ( self, x )
Object comparison
Sample Call : cmp(obj, x)

Overloading Operators
Suppose you have created a Vector class to represent two-dimensional vectors, what happens when you
use the plus operator to add them? Most likely Python will yell at you.
You could, however, define the add method in your class to perform vector addition and then the
plus operator would behave as per expectation −

Example

#!/usr/bin/python

class Vector:
def init (self, a, b):
self.a = a
self.b = b

def str (self):

return 'Vector (%d, %d)' % (self.a, self.b)

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 def add (self,other):
return Vector(self.a + other.a, self.b + other.b)

v1 = Vector(2,10)
v2 = Vector(5,-2)
print v1 + v2
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Vector(7,8)

Data Hiding
An object's attributes may or may not be visible outside the class definition. You need to name attributes
with a double underscore prefix, and those attributes then are not be directly visible to outsiders.

Example

#!/usr/bin/python

class JustCounter:
secretCount = 0

def count(self):
self. secretCount += 1
print self. secretCount

counter = JustCounter()
counter.count()
counter.count()
print counter. secretCount
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
1
2
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "test.py", line 12, in <module>
print counter. secretCount
AttributeError: JustCounter instance has no attribute ' secretCount'
Python protects those members by internally changing the name to include the class name. You can
access such attributes as object._className attrName. If you would replace your last line as following,
then it works for you −
.........................
print counter._JustCounter secretCount
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
1
2
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 Advantages and Disadvantages of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
This reading discusses advantages and disadvantages of object-oriented programming, which is a
well-adopted programming style that uses interacting objects to model and solve complex programming
tasks. Two examples of popular object-oriented programming languages are Java and C++. Some other
well-known object-oriented programming languages include Objective C, Perl, Python, Javascript,
Simula, Modula, Ada, Smalltalk, and the Common Lisp Object Standard.

Some of the advantages of object-oriented programming include:

1. Improved software-development productivity: Object-oriented programming is modular, as it
provides separation of duties in object-based program development. It is also extensible, as objects can be
extended to include new attributes and behaviors. Objects can also be reused within an across
applications. Because of these three factors – modularity, extensibility, and reusability – object-oriented
programming provides improved software-development productivity over traditional procedure-based
programming techniques.
2. Improved software maintainability: For the reasons mentioned above, objectoriented software is also
easier to maintain. Since the design is modular, part of the system can be updated in case of issues
without a need to make large-scale changes.
3. Faster development: Reuse enables faster development. Object-oriented programming languages
come with rich libraries of objects, and code developed during projects is also reusable in future projects.
4. Lower cost of development: The reuse of software also lowers the cost of development. Typically,
more effort is put into the object-oriented analysis and design, which lowers the overall cost of
development.
5. Higher-quality software: Faster development of software and lower cost of development allows more
time and resources to be used in the verification of the software. Although quality is dependent upon the
experience of the teams, objectoriented programming tends to result in higher-quality software.

Some of the disadvantages of object-oriented programming include:

1. Steep learning curve: The thought process involved in object-oriented programming may not be
natural for some people, and it can take time to get used to it. It is complex to create programs based on
interaction of objects. Some of the key programming techniques, such as inheritance and polymorphism,
can be challenging to comprehend initially.
2. Larger program size: Object-oriented programs typically involve more lines of code than procedural
programs.
3. Slower programs: Object-oriented programs are typically slower than procedurebased programs, as
they typically require more instructions to be executed.
4. Not suitable for all types of problems: There are problems that lend themselves well to functional-
programming style, logic-programming style, or procedure-based programming style, and applying
object-oriented programming in those situations will not result in efficient programs.

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