Mastering Object-oriented Python

For many types, this function makes an attempt to return a string that would yield an object with the same value when passed to eval().

We initialize an object by implementing the __init__() method. When an object is created, Python first creates an empty object and then calls the __init__() method for that new object. This method function generally creates the object's instance variables and performs any other one-time processing.

We can see that a class is an object of the class named type and that the base class for our new class is the class named object.

Because there are so many ways to provide argument values to __init__(), there is a vast array of use cases for object creation.

Initialization is the first big step in an object's life; every object must be initialized properly to work properly.

The __init__() method permits a great deal of latitude in providing the initial values for an object. In the case of an immutable object, this is the essential definition of the instance, and clarity becomes very important.

Besides the level of sophistication, one other difference between properties and attributes is that we can't attach new properties to an existing object easily; however, we can add attributes to an object easily, by default.

A property is actually a method function and can process, rather than simply preserve, a reference to another object.

A property is a method function that appears (syntactically) to be a simple attribute. We can get, set, and delete property values similarly to how we can get, set, and delete attribute values

An optional attribute pushes the edge of the envelope for class definition.