3.6. OOP Static and Dynamic Attrs

3.6.1. Static Fields

  • Fields created on class

  • Must have default values

  • Share state

Static Fields:

>>> class Astronaut:
...     agency = 'NASA'
>>>
>>>
>>> watney = Astronaut()
>>> jimenez = Astronaut()
>>>
>>> print(watney.agency)
NASA
>>>
>>> print(jimenez.agency)
NASA
>>>
>>> print(Astronaut.agency)
NASA

3.6.2. Dynamic Fields

  • Fields created on instance

  • Do not share state

  • By convention initialized in __init__()

  • You can also initialize on living object directly

Dynamic fields:

>>> class Astronaut:
...     def __init__(self, agency='NASA'):
...         self.agency = agency
>>>
>>>
>>> watney = Astronaut()
>>> twardowski = Astronaut()
>>>
>>> print(watney.agency)
NASA
>>>
>>> print(twardowski.agency)
NASA
>>>
>>> print(Astronaut.agency)
Traceback (most recent call last):
AttributeError: type object 'Astronaut' has no attribute 'agency'

3.6.3. Static vs. Dynamic Fields

Static vs. Dynamic fields:

>>> class Astronaut:
...     agency = 'NASA'
>>>
>>>
>>> watney = Astronaut()
>>> lewis = Astronaut()
>>> martinez = Astronaut()
>>>
>>> # Print field
>>> print(watney.agency)
NASA
>>> print(lewis.agency)
NASA
>>> print(martinez.agency)
NASA
>>> print(Astronaut.agency)
NASA
>>>
>>> # Change field on a class
>>> Astronaut.agency = 'ESA'
>>>
>>> # Print field
>>> print(watney.agency)
ESA
>>> print(lewis.agency)
ESA
>>> print(martinez.agency)
ESA
>>> print(Astronaut.agency)
ESA
>>>
>>> # Change field on the instance
>>> martinez.agency = 'POLSA'
>>>
>>> # Print field
>>> print(watney.agency)
ESA
>>> print(lewis.agency)
ESA
>>> print(martinez.agency)
POLSA
>>> print(Astronaut.agency)
ESA
>>>
>>> # Change field on a class
>>> Astronaut.agency = 'NASA'
>>>
>>> # Print field
>>> print(watney.agency)
NASA
>>> print(lewis.agency)
NASA
>>> print(martinez.agency)
POLSA
>>> print(Astronaut.agency)
NASA

3.6.4. Static or Dynamic?

Static Fields:

>>> class Astronaut:
...     firstname = ...
...     lastname = ...

Dynamic Fields:

>>> class Cosmonaut:
...     def __init__(self):
...         self.firstname = ...
...         self.lastname = ...

Dynamic Fields:

>>> from dataclasses import dataclass
>>>
>>>
>>> @dataclass
... class GaganYatri:
...     firstname: str = ...
...     lastname: list = ...

Dynamic Fields:

>>> class Taikonaut:
...     pass
>>>
>>> t = Taikonaut()
>>> t.firstname = ...
>>> t.lastname = ...

Static Fields:

>>> class Taikonaut:
...     pass
>>>
>>> Taikonaut.firstname = ...
>>> Taikonaut.lastname = ...