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Published 3 months ago

What Is A Magic Method?

Table of contents

Definition

Magic methods, also known as dunder (double underscore) methods, are special methods in Python that begin and end with double underscores (e.g., __init__, __str__). They enable the customization of behavior for built-in operations and can make your objects more intuitive to work with.

Use Cases and Examples

Here are some common magic methods in Python and their purposes:

  1. Initialization: __init__ is used to initialize an object’s state.
  2. String Representation: __str__ and __repr__ define how objects are represented as strings.
  3. Arithmetic Operations: Methods like __add__, __sub__, __mul__ enable custom behavior for arithmetic operations.
  4. Comparison Operations: __eq__, __lt__, and others allow custom comparison logic.

For instance, using __str__ can provide a human-readable representation of an object, making debugging easier.

01: class Person: 02: def __init__(self, name, age): 03: self.name = name 04: self.age = age 05: 06: def __str__(self): 07: return f'{self.name}, {self.age} years old' 08: 09: p = Person('John', 30) 10: print(p) # Output: John, 30 years old

Summary

Magic methods allow developers to define how objects interact with various Python operations seamlessly. This is a powerful feature for making your classes more intuitive and integrated with Python’s syntax.

Note: Be careful when using magic methods because they can change Python's default behavior. This might confuse other developers working on the same codebase.

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