Customizing functionality via inheritance

Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming in Python

George Boorman

Curriculum Manager, DataCamp

A hierarchy of bank account classes

What we have so far

class BankAccount:
    def __init__(self, balance):
       self.balance = balance

    def withdraw(self, amount):
       self.balance -=amount

# Empty class inherited from BankAccount
class SavingsAccount(BankAccount):
    pass

Customizing constructors

class SavingsAccount(BankAccount):    
    # Constructor for SavingsAccount with an additional argument
    def __init__(self, balance, interest_rate):  

        # Call the parent constructor using ClassName.__init__()
        # self is a SavingsAccount but also a BankAccount
        BankAccount.__init__(self, balance)

        # Add more functionality
        self.interest_rate = interest_rate

Can run constructor of the parent class first by Parent.__init__(self, args...)
Add more functionality
Don't have to call the parent constructor

Create objects with a customized constructor

# Construct the object using the new constructor
acct = SavingsAccount(1000, 0.03)
acct.interest_rate

0.03

Adding functionality

Add methods as usual
Can use the data from both the parent and the child class

class SavingsAccount(BankAccount):
    def __init__(self, balance, interest_rate):
        BankAccount.__init__(self, balance)
        self.interest_rate = interest_rate

    # New functionality
    def compute_interest(self, n_periods=1):
        return self.balance * ( (1 + self.interest_rate) ** n_periods - 1)

A hierarchy of bank account classes

Adding a second child class

class CheckingAccount(BankAccount):

    def __init__(self, balance, limit):
        BankAccount.__init__(self, balance) # Call the ParentClass constructor
        self.limit = limit

    def deposit(self, amount):
        self.balance += amount

    def withdraw(self, amount, fee=0): # New fee argument

        if amount <= self.limit:
            BankAccount.withdraw(self, amount + fee)  
        else:
            pass # Won't run if the condition isn't met

check_acct = CheckingAccount(1000, 25)

# Will call withdraw from CheckingAccount
check_acct.withdraw(200)


# Will call withdraw from CheckingAccount
check_acct.withdraw(200, fee=15)

bank_acct = BankAccount(1000)

# Will call withdraw from BankAccount
bank_acct.withdraw(200)


# Will produce an error
bank_acct.withdraw(200, fee=15)

TypeError: withdraw() got an unexpected
keyword argument 'fee'

Violates polymorphism
- Parent / child classes have different methods

Let's practice!

Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming in Python