Initialize variable if class method is run - python

I have a class, like
class D:
def __init__(self):
"""some variables"""
def foo(self):
"""generates lots of data"""
I would like to be able to store all of the data that foo creates within the instance of the class that foo is being called from. Almost like creating a new initialization variable, but only once the method is called. For if the user never calls foo, no need to have generated the data to begin with.
Thanks!

How about to make a flag which will say if data was already generated?
class D:
def __init__(self):
self.already_generated = False
"""some variables"""
def foo(self):
"""generates lots of data"""
if not already_generated:
self.generate()...
already_generated = True
def generate(self,...):

Not quite sure if this is what you're trying to do, but if you want a class method to generate data that can be accessed from that instance you can put it into a data structure that is a member of that class:
class D:
def __init__(self):
#class member variables here
self.fooArray = []
def foo(self):
#insert your data to self.fooArray here, eg:
for i in range(1, 10000):
self.fooArray.append(i)

Related

Refactoring a class method to be under an abstract base class and splitting the logic without changing the base class method signature?

I'm currently working on redesigning a class to be under an abstract base class. The current class has a method func that does some logic for two things, say A and B.
(note that all the code below is very simplified. There's a lot more functionality than what is shown)
class current_class:
def func(self):
# does stuff for A
# does stuff for B
During logic A, it loads a large dataset into a dictionary, say, dataset and later dataset.keys() is used for logic B, but other than that, A and B are independent of each other.
I will create an alternate class, say, another_class that is similar to current_class, but this class doesn't need B and only needs A. So something like
class another_class:
def func(self):
# does stuff for A
And then both will be under an abstract base class base. Since both inherited classes involves A, I plan on just creating a method in base class that does A, say, func_A. But I'm having trouble with figuring out the best way to approach this so that the function signatures conform and without having to reload dataset for B.
If another_class also needed the logic for B, I think we can just return dataset.keys() from func_A and use it in func_B, but another_class doesn't.
So I don't know if there's a good way to conform this without having different signatures for the methods.
So in code, I have the following two ideas:
1)
class base:
#abstractmethod
def func(self):
pass
def func_A(self):
# does stuff for A and gets the dataset
return dataset.keys()
class current_class:
def func_B(self, keys):
# does stuff for B
def func(self):
keys = self.func_A
self.func_B(keys)
class current_class:
def func(self):
_ = self.func_A() # the return is unused...
class base:
#abstractmethod
def func(self):
pass
class current_class:
def func_A(self):
# does stuff for A and gets the dataset
return dataset.keys()
def func_B(self, keys):
# does stuff for B
def func(self):
keys = self.func_A()
self.func_B(keys)
class current_class:
def func_A(self):
# does same stuff as func_A for current_class, and doesn't return anything
def func(self):
self.func_A()
I don't like the first design because func_A only needs to return something for one of the subclasses and not for all of them. I also don't like the second design because we have to separately implement func_A in each inherited class even though they're identical methods, except one needs to return something and the other doesn't.
It's not a big deal to ignore the return value of a function that is primarily called for its side effects. Just define func_A once in the base class and let both child classes use it as appropriate to their needs.
class Base:
#abstractmethod
def func(self):
pass
def func_A(self):
# does stuff for A and gets the dataset
return dataset.keys()
class Child1:
def func_B(self, keys):
# does stuff for B
def func(self):
keys = self.func_A
self.func_B(keys)
class Child2:
def func(self):
self.func_A()
If there is more in func_A that isn't necessary for Child2, then it should of course be split up to avoid doing unnecessary work in Child2.func. But simply returning a value is not in anyway time- or space-intensive, and should not be a concern.

Calling variable in one class file to another file in python3

Hi I'm a newbie in python programming. Please help me with this problem in python3:
pack.py
class one:
def test(self):
number = 100 ######I want to access this value and how?
print('test')
class two:
def sample(self):
print('sample')
another.py
from pack import *
class three:
def four(self):
obj = one()
print(obj.test())
###### I want to access the number value in this file and i don't know how #######
obj = three()
obj.four()
Here is an alternative
pack.py
class One:
def __init__(self):
self.number = 100
def test(self):
print('test')
class Two:
def sample(self):
print('Sample')
another.py
from pack import *
class Three:
def four(self):
self.obj = One().number
return self.obj
three = Three().four()
print(three)
By what seems to be your approach, you were using classes to access variables. It is better to instantiate variables in a constructor ( init method in class One). Then import the class and access it in another class of another file.
Also, it is a good practice to name classes beginning with uppercase letters. There are more possible ways but hope it helps.
number needs to be in a global scope, that means outside of a function definition (it shouldn't be indented)
if the variable is inside a function it is impossible to get it in another file
pack.py
number = 100
def test():
test.other_number = 999 # here we assigne a variable to the function object.
print("test")
another.py
import pack
pack.test()
print(pack.number)
print(test.other_number) # this only works if the function has been called once
Alternatively if you are using classes:
pack.py
class Someclass():
other_number = 999 # here we define a class variable
def __init__(self):
self.number = 100 # here we set the number to be saved in the class
def test(self):
print(self.number) # here we print the number
another.py
import pack
somclass_instance = pack.Someclass() # we make a new instance of the class. this runs the code in __init__
somclass_instance.test() # here we call the test method of Someclass
print(somclass_instance.number) # and here we get the number
print(Someclass.other_number) # here we retrieve the class variable

Store instance of class A in instance of class B

I have a question which is more regarding OOP in general rather than python specific.
Is ist possible to store instances of ClassA in instance of ClassB without a specific method, i.e. by some kind of inheritance.
Example: let's say I have one Model class and one Variable class
class Model():
def __init__(self):
self.vars = []
def _update_vars(self,Variable):
self.vars.append(Variable)
class Variable(Model):
def __init__(self,**kwargs):
self.__dict__.update(kwargs)
Is it now possible to call _update_vars whenever an instance of variable is being created.
So if I do something like this:
mdl = Model()
varA = Variable(...)
varB = Variable(...)
that mdl.vars would now include varA and varB.
I know that I could easily do this by passing the variables as an argument to a "public" method of Model. So I am not looking for
mdl.update_vars(varA)
So my two questions are:
is this possible?
if yes: would this very non-standard OOP programming?
Thanks for your help!
That's not how class inheritance is supposed to work. You only want to inherit something if the child class is going to make use of a good amount of the attributes/methods within the parent class. If the child class has a markedly different structure it should be a class of its own.
In either case, as mentioned by #jasonharper, at some point you would need to give direction as to which Variable instance belongs in which Model instance, so you're likely to end up with something like these:
varA = Variable(mdl, ...)
# or this
mdl.varA = Variable(...)
With the first way, you would maintain the method on your Variable class:
class Foo:
def __init__(self):
self.vars = []
class Bar:
def __init__(self, foo_instance, **kwargs):
foo_instance.vars.append(self)
f = Foo()
b = Bar(f, hello='hey')
f.vars
# [<__main__.Bar object at 0x03F6B4B0>]
With the second way, you can append the Variable instances into a list each time it's added:
class Foo:
def __init__(self):
self.vars = []
def __setattr__(self, name, val):
self.__dict__.update({name: val})
if not name == 'vars': # to prevent a recursive loop
self.vars.append(val)
f = Foo()
f.vars
# []
f.a = 'bar'
f.vars
# ['bar']
Of course, an easier way would be to just look directly into the __dict__ each time you want vars:
class Bar:
#property
def vars(self):
# Or you can return .items() if you want both the name and the value
return list(self.__dict__.values())
b = Bar()
b.a = 'hello'
b.vars
# ['hello']
Both of these will work the same even if you assigned the attributes with your own class instances.
You can use super() for this and pass the instance to the parent
class Model():
vars = []
def __init__(self, other=None):
if other:
self.vars.append(other)
class Variable(Model):
def __init__(self, a):
self.a = a
super().__init__(self)
mdl = Model()
varA = Variable(3)
varB = Variable(4)
print(mdl.vars)

Accessing Class variables from another class

How do you access an instance in an object and pass it to another 'main' object? I'm working with a parser for a file that parses different tags, INDI(individual), BIRT(event), FAMS(spouse), FAMC(children)
Basically there are three classes: Person, Event, Family
class Person():
def __init__(self, ref):
self._id = ref
self._birth : None
def addBirth(self, event):
self._birth: event
class Event():
def __init__(self, ref):
self._id = ref
self._event = None
def addEvent(self, event):
self._event = event
#**event = ['12 Jul 1997', 'Seattle, WA'] (this is generated from a function outside a class)
I want to transfer self._event from the Event class into addBirth method to add it into my person class. I have little knowledge on how classes and class inhertiances work. Please help!
If I understand your question, you want to pass an (for example) Event object to an instance of Person?
Honestly, I don't understand the intent of your code, but you probably just need to pass self from one class instance to the other class instance.
self references the current instance.
class Person:
def __init__(self):
self._events = []
def add_event(self, event)
self._events.append(event)
class Event:
def add_to_person(self, person):
person.add_event(self)
The most proper way to handle situations like this is to use getter and setter methods; data encapsulation is important in OO programming. I don't always see this done in Python where I think it should, as compared to other languages. It simply means to add methods to your classes who sole purpose are to return args to a caller, or modify args from a caller. For example
Say you have class A and B, and class B (caller) wants to use a variable x from class A. Then class A should provide a getter interface to handle such situations. Setting you work the same:
class class_A():
def __init__(self, init_args):
x = 0
def someMethod():
doStuff()
def getX():
return x
def setX(val):
x = val
class class_B():
def init(self):
init_args = stuff
A = class_A(init_args)
x = class_A.getX()
def someOtherMethod():
doStuff()
So if class B wanted the x property of an instance object A of class class_A, B just needs to call the getter method.
As far as passing instances of objects themselves, say if you wanted A to pass an already-created instance object of itself to a method in class B, then indeed, you simply would pass self.

Python: How to Encapsulate a Variable Across Multiple Classes?

I have a script using threaded timers that manipulates 2 common lists at random.
Because the class instances manipulate the lists on threaded timers, I cannot pass the variables to the classes & back.
…All instances of the classes need to manipulate a single, up to date list.
Because of that, the scope of those lists are set to global. However, I need the scope to be at the class level, yet be manipulated by multiple classes.
To clarify...
Here's the basic program structure:
Global list variable_1
Global list variable_2
class MasterClass:
# this creates instances of the threaded classes.
There are 50+ instances of MasterClass creating thousands
of instances of ThreadedClass1, 2, & 3. All manipulate
global list variables 1 & 2.
class ThreadedClass1:
# threaded classes manipulate global list variables 1 & 2 on random timers.
class ThreadedClass2:
class ThreadedClass3:
The problem: For each instance of MasterClass I need a separate list variable 1 & 2. Each instance of ThreadedClasses called by that instance of MasterClass must manipulate only the list variables owned by that instance of MasterClass.
Basically I need the equivalent of a global list variable, but I need it to be encapsulated by an instance of MasterClass, and be manipulated by any instance of ThreadedClasses called by that instance of MasterClass only.
How's this done?
Try to pass instance of MasterClass to every produced instance of ThreadedClasses.
Then, define thread save methods in MasterClass, that will perform manipulation with your variable_1, variable_2. ThreadedClasses shall not touch this lists directly, only by calling those methods.
Small example (check subclassing from object):
import threading
class ThreadedClassBase(object):
def __init__(self, master, *args, **kwargs):
self.master = master
def do_something(self):
self.master.append(1, 'some_value')
value = self.master.getitem(1, 0)
class ThreadedClass1(ThreadedClassBase):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super(ThreadedClass1, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
# ...
# same for ThreadedClass2, 3
class MasterClass(object):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
self.variable_1 = list()
self.variable_2 = list()
self.lock = threading.Lock()
for i in range(50):
ThreadedClass1(master=self)
# create new thread
def append(list_nb, value):
with self.lock:
getattr('variable_' + list_nb).append(value)
def getitem(list_nb, index):
with self.lock:
return getattr('variable_' + list_nb)[index]
If I understand correctly, you should be able to make them instance variables of MasterClass and pass them into the constructors.
eg.
class MasterClass:
def __init__(self):
self.variable_1 = [...]
self.variable_2 = [...]
self.tc1 = ThreadedClass1(self.variable_1, self.variable_2)
self.tc2 = ThreadedClass2(self.variable_1, self.variable_2)
self.tc3 = ThreadedClass3(self.variable_1, self.variable_2)
Alternatively pass the whole instance in
class MasterClass:
def __init__(self):
self.variable_1 = [...]
self.variable_2 = [...]
self.tc1 = ThreadedClass1(self)
self.tc2 = ThreadedClass2(self)
self.tc3 = ThreadedClass3(self)
class ThreadedClass1:
def __init__(self, parent):
self.mc = parent
etc.

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