CODEWITHSUNDEEP
python
CollegeStruggles
CollegeStruggles

Reputation: 21

How to use the methods made from a class

I want to use a method that I made within a class on a list of animals but I am unsure of how to do so.

I've tried calling the method on the list, but I guess because the method is within my class it can't identify it.

from src.ruminant import Ruminant
class Goat(Ruminant):

    def __init__(self, age):
        Ruminant.__init__(self, age)


    def make_sound(self):
        return Ruminant.make_sound(self) + " - baah"

#in another program vvv

animals = [Goat(2.0), Goat(2.1)]

This is just an example because I want to try to do some on my own, but I am unsure of how to make it output baah baah. Any help would be much appreciated and if I haven't worded this whole question well I am happy to try to further explain.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 64

Answers (2)

Z4-tier
Z4-tier

Reputation: 7998

Be sure you understand and can explain what a method is, specifically the notion that a method is fundamentally part of a class. When you write this:

animal = Goat(2.0)

You create a Goat object, sometimes referred to as an instance the Goat class, and assign it to the name animal. Once you have an object, you can call the methods that are defined for it:

animal.make_sound()

In Python, the square brackets [] are used to define a special data structure called a list. When you type:

animals = [Goat(2.1), Goat(2.2)]

you are creating two separate goat instances, and storing them in a list. The list is assigned the name animals, and can be accessed using special syntax.

Items in a list have an index number, which can be used to access individual members. This is how you would access the first object in the list:

animals[0]

Note that most programming languages are zero indexing meaning they start at index 0. So the second object in the list would be:

animals[1]

Just like before, we can call methods that are defined for items in the list:

animals[0].make_sound()
animals[1].make_sound()

Once you understand how that works, it makes sense to ask "what if I don't know how many animals there are in a list?" And in that case, you need to recognize that, for each animal in your list, you would be performing the same operation: calling make_sound(). If you wanted to call that method on a list with any number of animals, you could do it like this:

for animal in animals:
    animal.make_sound()

Upvotes: 0

U13-Forward
U13-Forward

Reputation: 71620

After you have the list:

animals = [Goat(2.0), Goat(2.1)]

Just do :

for animal in animals: 
    animal.make_sound()

Upvotes: 7

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