Getting more familiar with Python Classes and Objects.

If you've been following this blog, you're aware that I feel unprepared to make good use of the Object Oriented Programming facilities of the Python programming language. Python is kind enough to allow programming in non-OOP styles, but Python's OOP features keep glaring at me, reminding me of what I don't comfortably know.

I posted a question on Quora.com asking for real world examples of multiple inheritance being used in Python programs. I was disappointed about how few answers came back. That dearth of response left me with the suspicion that I'm not the only person around who isn't completely comfortable with multiple inheritance. http://www.quora.com/What-is-a-real-world-example-of-the-use-of-multiple-inheritance-in-Python. Looking around at other multiple inheritance questions on Quora (http://www.quora.com/Why-is-there-multiple-inheritance-in-C++-but-not-in-Java), I see some reason to suspect that super serious application of OOP is just going to need more time to sink into the heads of the majority of developers. So, I'll continue to watch and learn, but will try to remember to adhere to the KISS principle to the greatest extent possible.

Additional Lessons

1. This 40 minute video from Ray Hettinger (The Art of Subclassing) explains how Python classes differ from classes in other languages. Ray tries to reshape people's thinking here, so if you aren't already deeply steeped in OOP lore, you may feel he's dwelling on the obvious. He may give you some ideas of appropriate uses of inheritance in Python objects.

   
   

2. Ray mentions this 2nd talk in his video. This 2nd talk was the next talk after his at Pycon 2012. "Stop Writing Classes", Jack Diederich, 28 minutes. Basically, that video asserts that my own example so far of writing a class for a Python program is not very good. The clue: My example class had only __init__ and one other method. I could have written it as a simple function and used the partial function from the library functools module to handle the initialization.

Further Reading

I have 3 previous blog articles on OOP in Python.

In Creeping up on OOP in Python - Part 1 I described a use of an object-oriented library module, pyparsing, to solve a Project Euler problem.

In Creeping up on OOP in Python - Part 2 I reworked my solution to add a simple class of my own. I was happy that introducing that class made the code cleaner to read. But if you watched the "Stop Writing Classes" video given up above in this blog article, you'll probably notice that my class is an example of exactly what they say you shouldn't do.What can I say? I'm still learning this stuff.

The 3rd in my Creeping up on OOP in Python" series was a bit different from the first 2. It explored an academic question about multiple inheritance. It is exactly the kind of A, B, C example that Ray mentions avoiding in his talk. Creeping up on OOP in Python - Part 3. I haven't forgotten my promise of a Part 4 as soon as I have a practical example of multiple inheritance to substitute for A, B, C and D in that academic question. But so far, there is no Part 4.

Ray mentions "the gang of 4". If you aren't familiar with them, here's a reference for you to pursue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_Patterns. And he mentions "Uncle Bob". I also mentioned Uncle Bob, with some links here: SOLID software design.

Know more about this OOP stuff then I do? Well, don't keep the info to yourself. Please post a comment with a link or example to help me learn more. Have you found a particularly relevant MOOC that you'd suggest?