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Possible Duplicate:
What is the difference between @staticmethod and @classmethod in Python?

  • I am learning OOP in python and came to know about these two methods
  • It seems that the difference in terms of syntax is that class methods are implicitly passed the class they belong to as their first parameter
class Circle:
  all_circles = [] # class variable

  @staticmethod
  def total_area():
      for c in Circle.all_circles: # hardcode class name
          # do somethig

  @classmethod
  def total_area(cls):
      for c in cls.all_circles: # no hardcode class name
          # do something

I see class method as more flexible since we don't hardcode the class

Question:
- Is it even a question which one is better? @staticmethod or @classmethod?
- what are the scenarios suitable to use of each one of these methods?

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daydreamer
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    dup http://stackoverflow.com/questions/136097/what-is-the-difference-between-staticmethod-and-classmethod-in-python – Sid Mar 16 '12 at 20:41
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    The question I'd ask is not which one is better, but which one is appropriate-- for the particular situation you are in. – alexis Mar 16 '12 at 20:54

1 Answers1

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A classmethod gets passed the class 'cls' that it was called upon. For more details see: What is the difference between @staticmethod and @classmethod in Python?

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