Day 21: Modifying Python Class Object Attributes

Modifying Object Attributes in Python

In Python, you can modify the attributes of an object by defining methods within the object's class that operate on the object's attributes. To define a method that modifies an attribute, you write a function inside the class and use the 'self' keyword to access the attribute.

For instance, consider a 'Dog' class where each dog object has a 'name' and 'breed' attribute. Initially, we name our dog 'Fido'. However, with the 'set_name' method, we can change the name of the dog to 'Buddy'.

class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name, breed):
        self.name = name 
        self.breed = breed 

    def set_name(self, name):
        self.name = name 

dog = Dog("Fido", "Labrador")
print(dog.name)  
# Output: "Fido"

dog.set_name("Buddy")
print(dog.name)  
# Output: "Buddy"

In a similar manner, you can define a method that updates multiple attributes at once. In the following example, the 'update_info' method updates both the 'name' and 'breed' attributes of the dog object.

class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name, breed):
        self.name = name 
        self.breed = breed 

    def update_info(self, name, breed):
        self.name = name 
        self.breed = breed 

dog = Dog("Fido", "Labrador")
print(f"Name:{dog.name} Breed:{dog.breed}") 
# Output: "Name: Fido Breed: Labrador"

dog.update_info("Buddy", "Poodle")
print(f"Name:{dog.name} Breed:{dog.breed}")  
# Output: "Name: Buddy Breed: Poodle"

This way, you can effectively change object attribute Python-style, providing flexibility and control over your object instances.

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