Computer Programming Class
A Computer Programming Class is a Program Code Template that is based on a Class Constructor that creates an Object.
- AKA: Class (Computer Programming), Software Object Class.
- Context:
- It is usually named after constructor.
- Example(s):
- A Class Method such as sklearn.linear_model.
- A Derived Class
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Class Object, Metaclass, Object-Oriented Programming, Object (Object-Oriented Programming), Member Variable, Method (Computer Programming), Constructor (Object-Oriented Programming), Subroutine, Data Type, Instance (Computer Science), Instance Variable, Class Variable, First-Class Citizen.
References
2017a
- (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_(computer_programming) Retrieved:2017-9-24.
- In object-oriented programming, a class is an extensible program-code-template for creating objects, providing initial values for state (member variables) and implementations of behavior (member functions or methods). In many languages, the class name is used as the name for the class (the template itself), the name for the default constructor of the class (a subroutine that creates objects), and as the type of objects generated by instantiating the class; these distinct concepts are easily conflated. When an object is created by a constructor of the class, the resulting object is called an instance of the class, and the member variables specific to the object are called instance variables, to contrast with the class variables shared across the class.
In some languages, classes are only a compile-time feature (new classes cannot be declared at runtime), while in other languages classes are first-class citizens, and are generally themselves objects (typically of type Class or similar). In these languages, a class that creates classes is called a metaclass.
- In object-oriented programming, a class is an extensible program-code-template for creating objects, providing initial values for state (member variables) and implementations of behavior (member functions or methods). In many languages, the class name is used as the name for the class (the template itself), the name for the default constructor of the class (a subroutine that creates objects), and as the type of objects generated by instantiating the class; these distinct concepts are easily conflated. When an object is created by a constructor of the class, the resulting object is called an instance of the class, and the member variables specific to the object are called instance variables, to contrast with the class variables shared across the class.
2017b
- (Python Software Foundation,2017) ⇒ https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html Retrieved:2017-9-24.
- QUOTE: Classes provide a means of bundling data and functionality together. Creating a new class creates a new type of object, allowing new instances of that type to be made. Each class instance can have attributes attached to it for maintaining its state. Class instances can also have methods (defined by its class) for modifying its state.
Compared with other programming languages, Python’s class mechanism adds classes with a minimum of new syntax and semantics. It is a mixture of the class mechanisms found in C++ and Modula-3. Python classes provide all the standard features of Object Oriented Programming: the class inheritance mechanism allows multiple base classes, a derived class can override any methods of its base class or classes, and a method can call the method of a base class with the same name. Objects can contain arbitrary amounts and kinds of data. As is true for modules, classes partake of the dynamic nature of Python: they are created at runtime, and can be modified further after creation.
In C++ terminology, normally class members (including the data members) are public (except see below Private Variables), and all member functions are virtual. As in Modula-3, there are no shorthands for referencing the object’s members from its methods: the method function is declared with an explicit first argument representing the object, which is provided implicitly by the call. As in Smalltalk, classes themselves are objects. This provides semantics for importing and renaming. Unlike C++ and Modula-3, built-in types can be used as base classes for extension by the user. Also, like in C++, most built-in operators with special syntax (arithmetic operators, subscripting etc.) can be redefined for class instances.
(Lacking universally accepted terminology to talk about classes, I will make occasional use of Smalltalk and C++ terms. I would use Modula-3 terms, since its object-oriented semantics are closer to those of Python than C++, but I expect that few readers have heard of it.)
- QUOTE: Classes provide a means of bundling data and functionality together. Creating a new class creates a new type of object, allowing new instances of that type to be made. Each class instance can have attributes attached to it for maintaining its state. Class instances can also have methods (defined by its class) for modifying its state.
2016
- (Miller et al., 2016) ⇒ Brad Miller and David Ranum, Luther College (2012-2016). "1.13. Object-Oriented Programming in Python: Defining Classes" in Problem Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures Using Python ONLINE EDITION.
- QUOTE: We stated earlier that Python is an object-oriented programming language. So far, we have used a number of built-in classes to show examples of data and control structures. One of the most powerful features in an object-oriented programming language is the ability to allow a programmer (problem solver) to create new classes that model data that is needed to solve the problem.
Remember that we use abstract data types to provide the logical description of what a data object looks like (its state) and what it can do (its methods). By building a class that implements an abstract data type, a programmer can take advantage of the abstraction process and at the same time provide the details necessary to actually use the abstraction in a program. Whenever we want to implement an abstract data type, we will do so with a new class. (...)
A very common example to show the details of implementing a user-defined class is to construct a class to implement the abstract data type
Fraction. We have already seen that Python provides a number of numeric classes for our use. There are times, however, that it would be most appropriate to be able to create data objects that “look like” fractions.A fraction such as [math]\displaystyle{ \frac{3}{5} }[/math] consists of two parts. The top value, known as the numerator, can be any integer. The bottom value, called the denominator, can be any integer greater than 0 (negative fractions have a negative numerator). Although it is possible to create a floating point approximation for any fraction, in this case we would like to represent the fraction as an exact value.
The operations for the
Fractiontype will allow aFractiondata object to behave like any other numeric value. We need to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions. We also want to be able to show fractions using the standard “slash” form, for example 3/5. In addition, all fraction methods should return results in their lowest terms so that no matter what computation is performed, we always end up with the most common form.In Python, we define a new class by providing a name and a set of method definitions that are syntactically similar to function definitions. For this example,
- QUOTE: We stated earlier that Python is an object-oriented programming language. So far, we have used a number of built-in classes to show examples of data and control structures. One of the most powerful features in an object-oriented programming language is the ability to allow a programmer (problem solver) to create new classes that model data that is needed to solve the problem.
class Fraction:
#the methods go here
- provides the framework for us to define the methods. The first method that all classes should provide is the constructor. The constructor defines the way in which data objects are created. To create a Fraction object, we will need to provide two pieces of data, the numerator and the denominator. In Python, the constructor method is always called __init__ (two underscores before and after init) and is shown in Listing 2.