Book Image

The Python Workshop

By : Olivier Pons, Andrew Bird, Dr. Lau Cher Han, Mario Corchero Jiménez, Graham Lee, Corey Wade
Book Image

The Python Workshop

By: Olivier Pons, Andrew Bird, Dr. Lau Cher Han, Mario Corchero Jiménez, Graham Lee, Corey Wade

Overview of this book

Have you always wanted to learn Python, but never quite known how to start? More applications than we realize are being developed using Python because it is easy to learn, read, and write. You can now start learning the language quickly and effectively with the help of this interactive tutorial. The Python Workshop starts by showing you how to correctly apply Python syntax to write simple programs, and how to use appropriate Python structures to store and retrieve data. You'll see how to handle files, deal with errors, and use classes and methods to write concise, reusable, and efficient code. As you advance, you'll understand how to use the standard library, debug code to troubleshoot problems, and write unit tests to validate application behavior. You'll gain insights into using the pandas and NumPy libraries for analyzing data, and the graphical libraries of Matplotlib and Seaborn to create impactful data visualizations. By focusing on entry-level data science, you'll build your practical Python skills in a way that mirrors real-world development. Finally, you'll discover the key steps in building and using simple machine learning algorithms. By the end of this Python book, you'll have the knowledge, skills and confidence to creatively tackle your own ambitious projects with Python.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)

5. Constructing Python – Classes and Methods

Activity 14: Creating Classes and Inheriting from a Parent Class

Solution:

  1. Firstly, define the parent class, Polygon. We add an init method that allows the user to specify the lengths of the sides when creating the polygon:
    class Polygon():
        """A class to capture common utilities for dealing with shapes"""
        def __init__(self, side_lengths):
            self.side_lengths = side_lengths
            
        def __str__(self):
            return 'Polygon with %s sides' % self.num_sides
  2. Add two properties to the Polygon class – one that computes the number of sides of the polygon, and another that returns the perimeter:
    class Polygon():
        """A class to capture common utilities...