Descriptors

Intermediate Object-Oriented Programming in Python

Jake Roach

Data Engineer

Changing interactions with attributes

class Student:
    def __init__(self, name, ssn):
        self.name = name
        self.ssn = ssn

# Create a student object, and access the "ssn" attribute
shaw = Student("Daniel Shaw", "193-80-1821")
print(shaw.ssn)

# What if the value is changed or deleted? How should this be handled?

193-80-1821

Creating descriptors with @property

Descriptors are objects used to regulate the way that an attribute is retrieved, set, or deleted

Create descriptors with@property

"getter", "setter", "deleter"
Method names == name of attribute.

Descriptors may also be created with...

property() function
__get__(), __set__(), __delete__()

class Student:
    def __init__(self, name, ssn):
        self.name = name
        self.ssn = ssn

    @property  
    def ssn(self):
        return "XXX-XX-" + self._ssn[-4:]

    @ssn.setter  
    def ssn(self, new_ssn):
        self._ssn = new_ssn 

    @ssn.deleter
    def ssn(self):
        raise AttributeError("Can't delete SSN")

@property

class Student:
    def __init__(self, name, ssn):
        self.name = name
        self.ssn = ssn  # Does not need to include an underscore

    @property  
    def ssn(self):  # This is the "getter" method
        return "XXX-XX-" + self._ssn[-4:]

Controls how ssn is retrieved
Interact with self._ssn, not self.ssn

@ssn.setter

class Student:
    def __init__(self, name, ssn):
        self.name = name
        self.ssn = ssn
    ...

    @ssn.setter  
    def ssn(self, new_ssn):
        if len(new_ssn) == 11:
          # Add things such as data 
          # validation, operations on
          # other attributes, etc.
          self._ssn = new_ssn

@<attribute-name>.setter

"setter" method for ssn
Validate data quality
Perform operations on other attributes

Remember to interact with self._ssn, not self.ssn!

@ssn.deleter

class Student:
    def __init__(self, name, ssn):
        self.name = name
        self.ssn = ssn

    ...

    @ssn.deleter
    def ssn(self):
        # Can perform clean up, soft delete, raise exception
        raise AttributeError("Can't delete SSN")

Descriptors in action

shaw = Student("Daniel Shaw", "193-80-1821")
print(shaw.ssn)  # Access the ssn attribute

XXX-XX-1821

shaw.ssn = "821-11-9380"  # Update Shaw's social security number
print(shaw.ssn)

XXX-XX-9380

del shaw.ssn  # Attempt to delete the ssn attribute

AttributeError: Can't delete SSN

Let's practice!

Intermediate Object-Oriented Programming in Python