CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonpython-2.7classobject
GIS-Jonathan
GIS-Jonathan

Reputation: 4647

How to get an class reference in Python without calling __init__

I want to be able to dynamically specify a class reference from a dynamically specified module and pass that class reference to a third party library which then uses it. But I don't want to call the class itself (and thus the __init__ method in the class) when I do so, that's for the library to do.

I currently have this:

import importlib
import thirdpartylib

# Load the module
the_module = importlib.import_module('my_module')

# Now the class
the_class = getattr(the_module, 'MyClass')()

thirdpartylib.process(the_class)

But of course, getattr() runs the __init__ method, which I don't want.

How do I pass a reference to a class without creating an instance and triggering __init__?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 46

Answers (1)

mkrieger1
mkrieger1

Reputation: 23256

the_class = getattr(the_module, 'MyClass')

This would be the class.

the_class = getattr(the_module, 'MyClass')()

This is an instance of the class. You have to remove the trailing ().

Upvotes: 2

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