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

Module and Package Design

Python gives us several constructs to group and organize our software. In Section 1, Tighter Integration via Special Methods, we looked at several techniques for using a class definition to combine data structures and behavior together, and create discrete objects defined by structure and behavior. In this chapter, we'll look at modules to encapsulate class and function definitions, as well as shared objects. We'll also look at packages as a design pattern to group related modules together.

Python makes it very easy to create simple modules. Any time we create a Python file, we're creating a module. As the scope of our designs gets larger and more sophisticated, the use of packages becomes more important to maintain a clear organization among the modules. This chapter will suggest patterns for module definition.

Some languages encourage...