How Do I Create Class Constants and Static Methods in Python?

Creating Class Constants and Functions in Python

Python allows developers to create class-level variables and methods, commonly referred to as "class variables" and "static methods."

Class Variables

Variables declared within a class definition, outside of any method, become class variables. For instance:

class MyClass:
    i = 3

Accessing MyClass.i will return the value 3. Notably, class variables are distinct from any instance-level variables with the same name, as demonstrated below:

m = MyClass()
m.i = 4
print(MyClass.i, m.i)  # Outputs: (3, 4)

Static Methods

Unlike instance methods, static methods are associated with the class itself rather than any specific instance. To create a static method, use the @staticmethod decorator. For example:

class C:
    @staticmethod
    def f(arg1, arg2, ...): ...

Static methods do not receive a self parameter since they do not operate on a specific instance.

Classmethods vs. Static Methods

While static methods are convenient for utility functions, classmethods provide a more Pythonic approach by passing the class instance as the first parameter.

@classmethod
def f(cls, arg1, arg2, ...): ...

In this case, cls refers to the class itself. This pattern is often used for factory methods or operations that manipulate the class rather than any instance.

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