The self
In Python, self is a conventionally used parameter name in instance methods of a class. It refers to the instance of the class that is calling the method.
When we define a method inside a class in Python, we need to specify the self parameter as the first parameter of the method. For example:
pythonCopy codeclass MyClass:
def my_method(self, arg1, arg2):
# do something
When we call the my_method() method on an instance of MyClass, Python automatically passes the instance itself as the self parameter. For example:
pythonCopy codeobj = MyClass()
obj.my_method(1, 2) # self is implicitly passed as obj
We can then use the self parameter inside the method to access and modify the instance variables of the calling object. For example:
pythonCopy codeclass MyClass:
def __init__(self, name):
self.name = name
def my_method(self, arg):
print("Hello,", self.name)
self.name = arg
print("Goodbye,", self.name)
In this example, we define a class MyClass with an instance variable name and a method my_method() that prints a greeting using the current value of name, and then changes the value of name to the arg parameter.
When we create an instance of MyClass and call my_method(), Python automatically passes the instance as the self parameter:
pythonCopy codeobj = MyClass("Alice")
obj.my_method("Bob") # prints "Hello, Alice" and "Goodbye, Bob"
Overall, the self parameter is a convention in Python that allows us to refer to the instance of a class inside its methods. It is an important aspect of object-oriented programming in Python.
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