Creating Objects

Think of an object as a real thing created from a blueprint (class). Imagine:

• A class is a blueprint for making cookies.
• An object is an actual cookie you bake using the blueprint.

In Python, when we create an object, we are baking a "cookie" from the "blueprint" of a class.

How do we create objects?

To create an object, you simply call the class like a function. For example:

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

# Create an object
my_dog = Dog("Buddy", "Golden Retriever")

What’s happening here:

• Dog is the class (the blueprint).
• my_dog is the object (a specific dog we created using the class).
• Buddy and Golden Retriever are passed as values to the __init__ method, which initializes the object.

Accessing attributes

Attributes are like the details of an object. For example:

• A dog's name and breed are its attributes. You can access them using the dot . operator:

# Accessing the attributes of the object
print(my_dog.name)  # Output: Buddy
print(my_dog.breed)  # Output: Golden Retriever

Here’s how it works:

• my_dog.name: This asks Python to give the name of the my_dog object.
• my_dog.breed: This asks Python to give the breed of the my_dog object.

Using methods

Methods are like the actions an object can perform. For example:

• A dog can bark. We define methods in the class and call them using the object:

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

    def bark(self):  # Method: an action the object can do
        return f"{self.name} says Woof!"

# Create an object
my_dog = Dog("Buddy", "Golden Retriever")

# Call the method
print(my_dog.bark())  # Output: Buddy says Woof!

What’s happening here:

• bark() is a method defined in the class.
• When we call my_dog.bark(), it runs the bark method for the my_dog object.
• Inside the method, self.name refers to the specific dog’s name.

Putting it all together

Here’s a full example:

class Car:
    def __init__(self, brand, color):
        self.brand = brand  # Attribute: Car brand
        self.color = color  # Attribute: Car color

    def start(self):  # Method: Action to start the car
        return f"The {self.color} {self.brand} is starting!"

# Create objects
car1 = Car("Toyota", "red")
car2 = Car("Tesla", "blue")

# Access attributes
print(car1.brand)  # Output: Toyota
print(car2.color)  # Output: blue

# Call methods
print(car1.start())  # Output: The red Toyota is starting!
print(car2.start())  # Output: The blue Tesla is starting!