Python: Class Attributes Vs Getters and Setters?

Question

It appears many times while working with Python classes it is quite possible to get the same functionality with getMyAttr() and setMyAtt() methods instead of declaring the class attributes/variables such as self.myVariable

The more I work with OOP the more I tend to use class methods to get and set the attributes. I wonder if a direction I am taking is right and if I am not going to be sorry 10K lines of code later. Please advice!

Why do you want to use getters/setters instead of just accessing the attributes directly? — BrenBarn, Feb 14 '14 at 20:51
You should be using a mixture of direct access and `@property`, as the situation requires. They are syntactically interchangeable for a reason. — roippi, Feb 14 '14 at 20:53

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 14 '14 at 20:52

You're thinking in the right direction but you should be looking at Python properties to do what you're doing:

 class Foo():
   def __init__(self, x):
     self.__x = x

   @property
   def x(self):
     return self.__x

   @x.setter
   def set_x(self, value):
     if(value < 0):
       self.__x = value

Wherein you can nest the "set" logic and the "get" logic (if you're changing how to present it.) This makes calling the value x from the class feel as if you're accessing attributes.

   foo = Foo(-4)
   foo.x
   >>> -4
   foo.x = 3
   foo.x
   >>> -4
   foo.x = -12
   foo.x
   >>> -12

Python: Class Attributes Vs Getters and Setters?

1 Answers1