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pythonclassmethodsinstance

Updating Class variable within a instance method


class MyClass:
    var1 = 1

    def update(value):
        MyClass.var1 += value

    def __init__(self,value):
        self.value = value
        MyClass.update(value)

a = MyClass(1)

I'm trying to update a class variable(var1) within a method(_init_) but I gives me:

TypeError: unbound method update() must be called with MyClass instance as first argument (got int instance instead)

I'm doing this because I want easy access to all variables in a class by calling print MyClass.var1


Solution

  • You are confusing classes and instances.

    class MyClass(object):
        pass
    
    a = MyClass()
    

    MyClass is a class, a is an instance of that class. Your error here is that update is an instance method. To call it from __init__, use either:

    self.update(value)
    

    or

    MyClass.update(self, value)
    

    Alternatively, make update a class method:

    @classmethod
    def update(cls, value):
        cls.var1 += value