In this tutorial we will learn about the python classmethod() method and its uses.
What is Python classmethod() Method?
The Python classmethod() method returns the class function for the given function.
The syntax of the classmethod() method is:
The classmethod() is considered un-pythonic in newer python versions to use the @classmethod decorator for the classmethod definition.
The syntax of the classmethod decorator is:
What is a class method?
A class method is a function that is bound to a class rather than its objects, which does not require the creation of a class instance, more like a staticmethod.
The main difference between a staticmethod and a classmethod is:
- Static method knows nothing about the class and just deals with the parameters.
- The class method works with the class since its parameters are always the class itself.
Python classmethod() Method Parameters
classmethod() method only takes a single parameter:
function – function name that needs to be converted into a class method.
Example 1: How to use classmethod()?
The output will be as follow:
Here, we have a class Dog, with a member variable color assigned to black.
We also have a function printColor that takes a parameter cls and not the self we usually take.
cls method accepts the class Dog as a parameter rather than Dog’s object/instance.
Now we pass the method Dog.printColor as an argument to the function classmethod. This will convert the function to a class method to accept the first parameter as a class(i.e., Dog).
In the last line, we call printColor without creating a Dog object as we do for static methods. This prints the class variable color.
Rules of classmethod()
classmethod() function will return a class method for a given function.