Add to custom class in Python - python

I would like to be able to add to a custom class in the style of:
x=myclass("Something", 7)
x + 3
7, of course, corresponds with an inner property that I'd like to increment by adding to it.
The class holds a number that refers to a location in a list. This might seem like something that can be done by a normal integer, but I need it to act as a separate type. This is all done to emulate an old game language. The class is its 'variable' class, and the value of the variable is stored in the aforementioned list. Apparently, on older version of the game, arrays were faked by doing math on the variable object instance to grab a different variable. So I'm trying to emulate that.

If you want to support addition for class instances, you need to define an __add__() method on your class:
class MyClass(object):
def __init__(self, x):
self.x = x
def __add__(self, other):
return self.x + other
Example:
>>> a = MyClass(7)
>>> a + 3
10
To also support 3 + a, define the __radd__() method.
If you want to be able to update the x attribute of MyClass instances using
a += 3
you can define __iadd__().
If you want class instances to behave like integers with some additional methods and attributes, you should simply derive from int.

What you're looking to do is operator overloading. You can do this in python new style classes by overloading the __add__ method like so:
>>> class Test(object):
... def __init__(self): self.prop = 3
... def __add__(self, x):
... return self.prop + x
...
>>> Test() + 4
7
>>>

Related

self in Python classes

I know first argument in Python methods will be an instance of this class. So we need use "self" as first argument in methods. But should we also specify attribures (variables) in method starting with "self."?
My method work even if i don't specify self in his attributes:
class Test:
def y(self, x):
c = x + 3
print(c)
t = Test()
t.y(2)
5
and
class Test:
def y(self, x):
self.c = x + 3
print(self.c)
t = Test()
t.y(2)
5
For what i would need specify an attribute in methods like "self.a" instead of just "a"?
In which cases first example will not work but second will? Want to see situation which shows really differences between two of them, because now they behave the same from my point of view.
The reason you do self.attribute_name in a class method is to perform computation on that instances attribute as opposed to using a random variable.For Example
class Car:
def __init__(self,size):
self.size = size
def can_accomodate(self,number_of_people):
return self.size> number_of_people
def change_size(self,new_size):
self.size=new_size
#works but bad practice
def can_accomodate_v2(self,size,number_of_people):
return size> number_of_people
c = Car(5)
print(c.can_accomodate(2))
print(c.can_accomodate_v2(4,2))
In the above example you can see that the can_accomodate use's self.size while can_accomodate_v2 passes the size variable which is bad practice.Both will work but the v2 is a bad practice and should not be used.You can pass argument into a class method not related to the instance/class for example "number_of_people" in can_accomodate funtion.
Hope this helps.

Order of classes matters when using variables from each other

I am new to Python and didn't find an answer to the following problem:
I have two classes and want them to use variables from each other. Is there a simple way to do this because if I do it like this class a does not know that class b exists.
class a:
y=1
print(b.x)
class b:
x=1
print(a.y)
And how do I use overwrite the variables, the following code does not work:
class a:
y=b.x
class b:
x=1
You are executing print as part of the class definition. It executes as soon as python sees that line of code, before it's read the part about class b.
Instead, use functions inside the classes to execute code after the classes have been defined:
class a:
y=1
def go():
print(b.x)
class b:
x=1
def go():
print(a.y)
a.go()
b.go()
As I said in a comment, your code isn't making effective use of classes. Here's what I think would be better approach that offers more flexibility in working around the circular reference issue.
First the class definitions (which follow the PEP 8 naming convention guidelines):
class A:
def __init__(self, value, linked_value=None):
self.y = value
if isinstance(linked_value, B):
self.linked_value = linked_value.x
def print_linked_value(self):
print(self.linked_value)
class B:
def __init__(self, value, linked_value=None):
self.x = value
if isinstance(linked_value, A):
self.linked_value = linked_value.y
def print_linked_value(self):
print(self.linked_value)
Definitions like that provide two ways to set up the circular references:
By creating them separately, then explicitly linking them:
# First create instances of each class.
a = A(1)
b = B(42)
# Then link them.
a.linked_value = b.x
b.linked_value = a.y
a.print_linked_value() # -> 42
b.print_linked_value() # -> 1
*OR* by creating the first one without a linked value and leaving only the second needing to be linked manually.
# First create instances of each class, but link the second to the first
# when it's created.
a = A(1)
b = B(42, a) # Create and link to first.
# Then link the first to the second to complete the circular references.
a.linked_value = b.x
# Same result.
a.print_linked_value() # -> 42
b.print_linked_value() # -> 1
Final note: Another, more advanced alternative that can also be applied in situations like this by using the built-in property() function as a decorator to create "descriptors". Here's an answer to a somewhat related question that illustrating its use.
class A:
y = 1
def foo(self):
print B.x
class B:
x = 1
def bar(self):
print A.y
>>> A().foo()
2
>>> B().bar()
1
Use 'print' in some function definition.

How to calculate hash of a python class object

In python3, I have a class. Like below:
class Foo:
def __init__(self):
self.x = 3
def fcn(self, val):
self.x += val
Then I instantiate objects of that class, like so:
new_obj = Foo()
new_obj2 = Foo()
Now when I hash these objects, I get different hash values. I need them to return the same hash, as they are the same objects (in theory).
Any idea how I can do this?
Thank you to all who answered. You're right that instantiating a new instance of the same class object is not actually the same, as it occupies a different place in memory. What I ended up doing is similar to what #nosklo suggested.
I created a 'get_hashables' function that returned a dictionary with all the properties of the class that would constitute a unique class object, like so:
def get_hashables(self):
return {'data': self.data, 'result': self.result}
Then my main method would take these 'hashable' variables, and hash them to produce the hash itself.
class Foo:
def __init__(self):
self.x = 3
def fcn(self, val):
self.x += val
def __hash__(self):
return hash(self.x)
This will calculate the hash using self.x; That means the hash will be the same when self.x is the same. You can return anything from __hash__, but to prevent consistency bugs you should return the same hash if the objects compare equal. More about that in the docs.
They are not the same object. The expression Foo() invokes the class constructor, Foo.__init__, which returns a new, unique instance of the object on each call. Your two calls return two independent objects, residing in different memory locations, each containing its own, private instance of the x attribute.
You might want to read up on Python class and instance theory.

How to manipulate expressions in matrices using sympy?

I'm writing a library, and I can construct expressions using objects from my library. For example, x and y are instances from my library, and I can construct expressions like:
# below is a simplified version of my class
class MySymbol(object):
import random
_random_value = random.randint(1,4)
def __init__(self, value):
self.value = value
def __add__(self, symbol):
return MySymbol(self.value + symbol.value)
def __mul__(self, symbol):
return MySymbol(self.value * symbol.value)
def __repr__(self):
return str(self.value)
def _get_random_value(self):
return self._random_value
x,y = sympy.symbols('x y')
x = MySymbol(9)
y = MySymbol(3)
import sympy
A = sympy.Matrix([[x,y],[x,y]])
B = sympy.Matrix([[x+y,x*y]])
This is also true for matrix operations. The sympy.Matrix class converts these elements to sympy.core.numbers.Integer, when I want them to maintain their type MySymbol:
BA=B*A
print type(BA[0,0])
print type(x*x+y*x+x*x*y) # first element of matrix in *symbolic* form
<class 'sympy.core.numbers.Integer'>
<class '__main__.MySymbol'>
Now, because BA[0,0] is not of type MySymbol anymore, I cannot call the methods I want on it:
BA[0,0]._get_random_value() # DOES NOT WORK
>> AttributeError: 'Integer' object has no attribute '_get_random_value'
expression = x*x+y*x+x*x*y
expression._get_random_value() # THIS DOES WORK
>> 4
How do I take advantage of matrix multiplication from sympy.Matrix, but yet still allow the elements of the matrix to retain their class type of MySymbol? and still allow all of their methods (such as _get_random_value()) to be accessible?
You need to subclass from a SymPy class to use it within SymPy. Depending on what your class is doing will tell you what class to subclass, but the most typical superclass is Expr. See my answer to a very similar question here.

How to store function in class attribute?

In my code I have a class, where one method is responsible for filtering some data. To allow customization for descendants I would like to define filtering function as a class attribute as per below:
def my_filter_func(x):
return x % 2 == 0
class FilterClass(object):
filter_func = my_filter_func
def filter_data(self, data):
return filter(self.filter_func, data)
class FilterClassDescendant(FilterClass):
filter_func = my_filter_func2
However, such code leads to TypeError, as filter_func receives "self" as first argument.
What is a pythonic way to handle such use cases? Perhaps, I should define my "filter_func" as a regular class method?
You could just add it as a plain old attribute?
def my_filter_func(x):
return x % 2 == 0
class FilterClass(object):
def __init__(self):
self.filter_func = my_filter_func
def filter_data(self, data):
return filter(self.filter_func, data)
Alternatively, force it to be a staticmethod:
def my_filter_func(x):
return x % 2 == 0
class FilterClass(object):
filter_func = staticmethod(my_filter_func)
def filter_data(self, data):
return filter(self.filter_func, data)
Python has a lot of magic within. One of those magics has something to do with transforming functions into UnboundMethod objects (when assigned to the class, and not to an class' instance).
When you assign a function (And I'm not sure whether it applies to any callable or just functions), Python converts it to an UnboundMethod object (i.e. an object which can be called using an instance or not).
Under normal conditions, you can call your UnboundMethod as normal:
def myfunction(a, b):
return a + b
class A(object):
a = myfunction
A.a(1, 2)
#prints 3
This will not fail. However, there's a distinct case when you try to call it from an instance:
A().a(1, 2)
This will fail since when an instance gets (say, internal getattr) an attribute which is an UnboundMethod, it returns a copy of such method with the im_self member populated (im_self and im_func are members of UnboundMethod). The function you intended to call, is in the im_func member. When you call this method, you're actually calling im_func with, additionally, the value in im_self. So, the function needs an additional parameter (the first one, which will stand for self).
To avoid this magic, Python has two possible decorators:
If you want to pass the function as-is, you must use #staticmethod. In this case, you will have the function not converted to UnboundMethod. However, you will not be able to access the calling class, except as a global reference.
If you want to have the same, but be able to access the current class (disregarding whether the function it is called from an instance or from a class), then your function should have another first argument (INSTEAD of self: cls) which is a reference to the class, and the decorator to use is #classmethod.
Examples:
class A(object):
a = staticmethod(lambda a, b: a + b)
A.a(1, 2)
A().a(1, 2)
Both will work.
Another example:
def add_print(cls, a, b):
print cls.__name__
return a + b
class A(object):
ap = classmethod(add_print)
class B(A):
pass
A.ap(1, 2)
B.ap(1, 2)
A().ap(1, 2)
B().ap(1, 2)
Check this by yourseld and enjoy the magic.

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