Python – Is it possible to import class method without instantiating class

importooppythonpython-2.7python-2.x

Having class located somewhere in my_module.py

I can access his method like this

from .my_module import Mailer

mailer = Mailer()
mailer.do_stuff()

But if I can import just do_stuff method from class? If so, can I import not only static methods?

Best Solution

You can access class and static methods on the class, without creating an instance. For example, take the following demo class:

class Demo(object):

    def instance_method(self):
        print "Called an instance method"

    @classmethod
    def class_method(cls):
        print "Called a class method"

    @staticmethod
    def static_method():
        print "Called a static method"

Now we can call two of those methods directly on the class:

>>> Demo.class_method()
Called a class method
>>> Demo.static_method()
Called a static method

But we can't call the instance method, as we don't have an instance for the self argument:

>>> Demo.instance_method()

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<pyshell#4>", line 1, in <module>
    Demo.instance_method()
TypeError: unbound method instance_method() must be called with Demo instance as first argument (got nothing instead)

You can call all three types of method on an instance:

>>> instance = Demo()
>>> instance.class_method()
Called a class method
>>> instance.static_method()
Called a static method
>>> instance.instance_method()
Called an instance method

Note that static methods don't use any class or instance attributes, therefore they are pretty much identical to functions. If you find yourself wanting to call a function without referencing the class or an instance, just factor it out to a function.

Related Solutions

Python – Are static class variables possible in Python

Variables declared inside the class definition, but not inside a method are class or static variables:

>>> class MyClass:
...     i = 3
...
>>> MyClass.i
3

As @millerdev points out, this creates a class-level i variable, but this is distinct from any instance-level i variable, so you could have

>>> m = MyClass()
>>> m.i = 4
>>> MyClass.i, m.i
>>> (3, 4)

This is different from C++ and Java, but not so different from C#, where a static member can't be accessed using a reference to an instance.

See what the Python tutorial has to say on the subject of classes and class objects.

@Steve Johnson has already answered regarding static methods, also documented under "Built-in Functions" in the Python Library Reference.

class C:
    @staticmethod
    def f(arg1, arg2, ...): ...

@beidy recommends classmethods over staticmethod, as the method then receives the class type as the first argument, but I'm still a little fuzzy on the advantages of this approach over staticmethod. If you are too, then it probably doesn't matter.

Python – How to check whether a file exists without exceptions

If the reason you're checking is so you can do something like if file_exists: open_it(), it's safer to use a try around the attempt to open it. Checking and then opening risks the file being deleted or moved or something between when you check and when you try to open it.

If you're not planning to open the file immediately, you can use os.path.isfile

Return True if path is an existing regular file. This follows symbolic links, so both islink() and isfile() can be true for the same path.

import os.path
os.path.isfile(fname)

if you need to be sure it's a file.

Starting with Python 3.4, the pathlib module offers an object-oriented approach (backported to pathlib2 in Python 2.7):

from pathlib import Path

my_file = Path("/path/to/file")
if my_file.is_file():
    # file exists

To check a directory, do:

if my_file.is_dir():
    # directory exists

To check whether a Path object exists independently of whether is it a file or directory, use exists():

if my_file.exists():
    # path exists

You can also use resolve(strict=True) in a try block:

try:
    my_abs_path = my_file.resolve(strict=True)
except FileNotFoundError:
    # doesn't exist
else:
    # exists

Best Solution

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