CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonooppytorchself
16irbier
16irbier

Reputation: 1

What does self(variable) do in Python?

I'm trying to understand someone else's code in Python and I stumbled across a line I don't quite understand and which I can't find on the internet:

x=self(k)

with k being a torch-array. I know what self.something does but I haven't seen self(something) before.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 73

Answers (1)

Silvio Mayolo
Silvio Mayolo

Reputation: 70267

self, for these purposes, is just a variable like any other, and when we call a variable with parentheses, it invokes the __call__ magic method. So

x = self(k)

is effectively a shortcut for

x = self.__call__(k)

Footnote: I say "effectively", because it's really more like

x = type(self).__call__(self, k)

due to the way magic methods work. This difference shouldn't matter unless you're doing funny things with singleton objects, though.

Upvotes: 3

Related Questions