Tag: What is class method in Python example?

A class method is a method that is bound to a class rather than its object . It doesn’t require creation of a class instance, much like staticmethod. The difference between a static method and a class method is: Static method knows nothing about the class and just deals with the parameters.

A method is a function that “belongs to” an object. (In Python, the term method is not unique to class instances: other object types can have methods as well . For example, list objects have methods called append, insert, remove, sort, and so on.

To call a class method, put the class as the first argument . Class methods can be can be called from instances and from the class itself. All of these use the same method. The method can use the classes variables and methods.

You can use class methods for any methods that are not bound to a specific instance but the class . In practice, you often use class methods for methods that create an instance of the class. When a method creates an instance of the class and returns it, the method is called a factory method.