Book Image

Mastering Object-Oriented Python - Second Edition

By : Steven F. Lott
Book Image

Mastering Object-Oriented Python - Second Edition

By: Steven F. Lott

Overview of this book

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a relatively complex discipline to master, and it can be difficult to see how general principles apply to each language's unique features. With the help of the latest edition of Mastering Objected-Oriented Python, you'll be shown how to effectively implement OOP in Python, and even explore Python 3.x. Complete with practical examples, the book guides you through the advanced concepts of OOP in Python, and demonstrates how you can apply them to solve complex problems in OOP. You will learn how to create high-quality Python programs by exploring design alternatives and determining which design offers the best performance. Next, you'll work through special methods for handling simple object conversions and also learn about hashing and comparison of objects. As you cover later chapters, you'll discover how essential it is to locate the best algorithms and optimal data structures for developing robust solutions to programming problems with minimal computer processing. Finally, the book will assist you in leveraging various Python features by implementing object-oriented designs in your programs. By the end of this book, you will have learned a number of alternate approaches with different attributes to confidently solve programming problems in Python.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Section 1: Tighter Integration Via Special Methods
11
Section 2: Object Serialization and Persistence
17
Section 3: Object-Oriented Testing and Debugging

The SOLID design principles

One goal for the SOLID design principles is to limit the effects of change or extension on a design. Making a change to established software is a bit like casting a pebble into the sea: there will be an initial splash, followed by ripples of change spreading outward. When trying to fix or extend badly designed software, the initial splash radius covers everything; the ripples are large and lead to numerous problems. In well-designed software, the splash radius is tiny.

As a concrete example, consider a class to represent dominoes. Each tile has 2 numbers, from 0 to 6, leading to 28 distinct tiles. The class design looks more or less like a two-tuple. The overall collection of 28 tiles can be generated with a nested pair of for statements, or a generator expression with two for clauses.

In some games, however, the tiles could have an upper limit of 9...