Python — Different Types of Methods

This is frequent question in interviews, they will ask us to explain about method and type of methods in Python. lets have a quick read about them.

In Python, you can define three types of methods in a class: instance methods, class methods, and static methods. Each type of method serves a different purpose. Here are examples of each type of method:

Instance Method:

• Instance methods are the most common type of methods in Python classes.
• They operate on the instance’s attributes and can modify or access instance-specific data.

In this example, the greet method is an instance method because it operates on the self object, which is a specific instance of the Person class.

Class Method:

• Class methods are used for operations that are not specific to an instance but relate to the class itself.
• They are defined with the @classmethod decorator and take the class (usually named cls) as their first parameter.

In this example, the from_diameter method is a class method because it's not bound to any specific instance but relates to the Circle class.

Static Method:

• Static methods are used for utility functions that don’t depend on instance-specific or class-specific data.
• They are defined with the @staticmethod decorator and do not take the self or cls parameter by convention.

In this example, both the add and multiply methods are static methods because they don't depend on any instance-specific or class-specific data.

Understanding these three types of methods in Python classes is crucial for structuring your code effectively and efficiently, as each type serves a distinct purpose.