CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonclassmethods
SpacemanSpiff
SpacemanSpiff

Reputation: 7

Why does a method within a class work even if not marked with @classmethod or @staticmethod?

I'm new to Python and just learning about its implementation of objects/classes. I understand the difference between an instance method, class method, and static method, I think, but what I don't understand is why a method that has not been decorated as a @classmethod or @staticmethod can be called from the class itself.

My very (very) basic example:

class TestClass:
    def __init__(self):
        pass


    @staticmethod
    def print_static_stuff(stuff):
        print(stuff)


    def print_stuff(stuff):
        print(stuff)


TestClass.print_stuff("stuff")  # prints "stuff"
TestClass.print_static_stuff("static stuff")  # prints "static stuff"

The method print_stuff() seems to act as a static method when called on the class, taking the argument as it's single parameter and not the class (cls). Why can the method not decorated with @staticclass be called on the class? Is this by design or just a weird side-effect, and why? From what I've learned so far, Python, by design, has few to no "weird side-effects".

Upvotes: 0

Views: 54

Answers (1)

anthony sottile
anthony sottile

Reputation: 69924

The first parameter being named self is merely a convention. The instance will be passed as the first positional argument independent of what you've named it (in this case you've called it stuff).

Upvotes: 1

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