CODEWITHSUNDEEP
python
amaurs
amaurs

Reputation: 1642

Is using self as an attribute to outside method a good practice?

I am trying to save me from repeating code in two classes, I have tested the following snippet and it works, I am wondering if it is a good practice or should I consider using inheritance. In that case is there something particularly wrong about this approach?

def do_something_with_self(obj):
    print 'Hello, I was called from %s' % obj.name

class A(object):
    name = "Class A"

    def do_something(self):
        do_something_with_self(self)    

class B(object):
    name = "Class B"

    def do_something(self):
        do_something_with_self(self)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    a = A()
    b = B()
    a.do_something()
    b.do_something()

Upvotes: 3

Views: 83

Answers (2)

TigerhawkT3
TigerhawkT3

Reputation: 49318

It is a good practice if the situation calls for it. Sometimes an object needs to be passed to a function that works with objects of that type without being a method of that type of object, and that's the way to do it. For example, your object might have a logging function that includes a dir() of the object - dir(self) would be the way to do that.

However, if A and B are really both objects of the same overarching kind (like Letter), I would recommend using inheritance.

Upvotes: 3

Marcin
Marcin

Reputation: 49826

This is good practice. In general, you should avoid inheritance when you have a choice between inheritance and another simple mechanism for code sharing.

Upvotes: 3

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