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BeginnersGuideToPython_Classes

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Beginner's Guide To Python, Classes

Class Basics

One of the most useful and powerful aspects of Python programming is classes. Classes are the foundation of Object Oriented Programming. A class allows you to encapsulate data with methods that operate on that data into a single special type.

The class Statement

As with functions, classes in Python are created by an executable statement. To begin using Python's object oriented features¹, you simply need to issue a class statement:

Python 2.2.2 (#37, Oct 14 2002, 17:02:34) [MSC 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
IDLE 0.8 -- press F1 for help
>>> class MyClass:
	pass
>>>

In languages such as C++ or Java, classes are just blueprints for creating instances of that class. In Python, the class statement actually creates a callable object which returns instances of that class. This statement creates such an object factory named MyClass. To create an instance of MyClass, simply use it like a function:

Python 2.2.2 (#37, Oct 14 2002, 17:02:34) [MSC 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
IDLE 0.8 -- press F1 for help
>>> class MyClass:
	pass
>>> mc = MyClass()
>>> mc
<__main__.MyClass instance at 0x00904D00>
>>> 

Here we have created an object named mc which is an instance of MyClass.

Class Data Members

Class Methods

Class Inheritance

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(1) You have actually been using Python's object oriented nature implicitly already. Here, however, we begin using it explicitly by creating our own objects.
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