Learn Python by Building Data Science Applications

Using super()

Once in a while, you need to access parent class methods and attributes from within the instance—for example, when you initiate a new one and need to execute the parent class's initialization logic. For that, we can use a built-in function called super. It is very easy to use—just call it from within a class—and it will return a proxy object of a direct parent with access to all its methods and attributes. Take a look at the following snippet:

class Shark(Fish):  def __init__(self, w=5000, teeth=121): self.teeth = teeth super().__init__(w=w)

Here, we create a new class called Shark, inheriting from Fish. This new class has its own custom initialization code, but it also utilizes the __init__ method of the Fish class via the ...