How do I create static class variables or methods in Python?
26 Answers
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.
@Blair Conrad said static variables declared inside the class definition, but not inside a method are class or "static" variables:
>>> class Test(object):
... i = 3
...
>>> Test.i
3
There are a few gotcha's here. Carrying on from the example above:
>>> t = Test()
>>> t.i # "static" variable accessed via instance
3
>>> t.i = 5 # but if we assign to the instance ...
>>> Test.i # we have not changed the "static" variable
3
>>> t.i # we have overwritten Test.i on t by creating a new attribute t.i
5
>>> Test.i = 6 # to change the "static" variable we do it by assigning to the class
>>> t.i
5
>>> Test.i
6
>>> u = Test()
>>> u.i
6 # changes to t do not affect new instances of Test
# Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!
>>> Test.__dict__
{'i': 6, ...}
>>> t.__dict__
{'i': 5}
>>> u.__dict__
{}
Notice how the instance variable t.i got out of sync with the "static" class variable when the attribute i was set directly on t. This is because i was re-bound within the t namespace, which is distinct from the Test namespace. If you want to change the value of a "static" variable, you must change it within the scope (or object) where it was originally defined. I put "static" in quotes because Python does not really have static variables in the sense that C++ and Java do.
Although it doesn't say anything specific about static variables or methods, the Python tutorial has some relevant information on classes and class objects.
@Steve Johnson also answered regarding static methods, also documented under "Built-in Functions" in the Python Library Reference.
class Test(object):
@staticmethod
def f(arg1, arg2, ...):
...
@beid also mentioned classmethod, which is similar to staticmethod. A classmethod's first argument is the class object. Example:
class Test(object):
i = 3 # class (or static) variable
@classmethod
def g(cls, arg):
# here we can use 'cls' instead of the class name (Test)
if arg > cls.i:
cls.i = arg # would be the same as Test.i = arg1
Static and Class Methods
As the other answers have noted, static and class methods are easily accomplished using the built-in decorators:
class Test(object):
# regular instance method:
def my_method(self):
pass
# class method:
@classmethod
def my_class_method(cls):
pass
# static method:
@staticmethod
def my_static_method():
pass
As usual, the first argument to my_method() is bound to the class instance object. In contrast, the first argument to my_class_method() is bound to the class object itself (e.g., in this case, Test). For my_static_method(), none of the arguments are bound, and having arguments at all is optional.
