Object Oriented Programming(Python)
Emmanuel Ali(PhD)
May 21, 2026
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 1 / 26
Outline
1 Magic Methods
2 Construction and Initialization
3 Representation Magic Methods
4 Comparison Magic Methods
5 Numeric Magic Methods
6 Container Magic Methods
7 Callable and Context Manager Magic Methods
8 Other Useful Magic Methods
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 2 / 26
What Are Special (Magic) Methods?
Special methods (also called dunder methods because they have double
underscores before and after their names) allow developers to define how
objects behave with built-in operations such as printing, arithmetic,
comparison, indexing, iteration, and more.
Dunder methods are predefined method names in Python that begin and end
with double underscores:
__methodname__
Predefined method names surrounded by double underscores.
Automatically invoked by Python.
Allow objects to behave like built-in types.
Examples:
__init__
__str__
__add__
__len__
Important: We do NOT call them
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nddirectly
Semester — Python calls them.
May 21, 2026 3 / 26
Why Use Magic Methods?
Make custom objects behave like built-in types
Enable operator overloading (like +, -, *, /)
Create more intuitive interfaces for your classes
Control object creation, representation, and destruction
Implement protocols (e.g., context managers, descriptors)
Enhance readability and expressiveness of code
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Object Construction Magic Methods
__new__(cls, ...): Static method called before __init__
Creates and returns a new instance
Rarely overridden except for singletons, immutables, or metaclasses
__init__(self, ...): Initialize a newly created instance
Most common constructor method
Sets up instance attributes
__del__(self): Called when object is garbage collected
Used for cleanup operations
Should not be relied upon for critical cleanup
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Construction Example
class Person :
def __new__ ( cls , name , age ) :
print ( f " Creating a new Person object " )
# Call the parent class 's __new__ method
instance = super () . __new__ ( cls )
return instance
def __init__ ( self , name , age ) :
print ( f " Initializing Person object " )
self . name = name
self . age = age
def __del__ ( self ) :
print ( f " { self . name } is being destroyed " )
# Creating an instance
p = Person ( " Alice " , 30)
# Output :
# Creating a new Person object
# Initializing Person object
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 6 / 26
String Representation Methods
__str__(self): Human-readable string representation
Called by the str() function and print()
Should return a friendly, readable description
__repr__(self): Developer-readable string representation
Called by the repr() function
Should ideally be valid Python code to recreate the object
Used as fallback if __str__ is not defined
__format__(self, format_spec): Custom string formatting
Called by the format() function and f-strings
Allows for custom format specifications
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class Point :
def __init__ ( self , x , y ) :
self . x = x
self . y = y
def __str__ ( self ) :
return f " Point at ({ self . x } , { self . y }) "
def __repr__ ( self ) :
return f " Point ({ self . x } , { self . y }) "
def __format__ ( self , format_spec ) :
if format_spec == " polar " :
r = ( self . x **2 + self . y **2) **0.5
theta = math . atan2 ( self .y , self . x )
return f " r ={ r :.2 f } , ={ theta :.2 f } "
return str ( self )
p = Point (3 , 4)
p
print ( str ( p ) )
print ( repr ( p ) )
print ( f " { p : polar } " )
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 8 / 26
Comparison Magic Methods
__eq__(self, other): Equality (==)
__ne__(self, other): Inequality (!=)
__lt__(self, other): Less than (<)
__le__(self, other): Less than or equal to (<=)
__gt__(self, other): Greater than (>)
__ge__(self, other): Greater than or equal to (>=)
__bool__(self): Truth value testing (if obj:)
If __bool__ is not implemented, Python falls back to __len__
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class Temperature :
def __init__ ( self , celsius ) :
self . celsius = celsius
def __eq__ ( self , other ) :
if isinstance ( other , Temperature ) :
return self . celsius == other . celsius
return False
def __lt__ ( self , other ) :
if isinstance ( other , Temperature ) :
return self . celsius < other . celsius
return NotImplemented
def __bool__ ( self ) :
return self . celsius > 0 # True if above freezing
t1 = Temperature (20)
t2 = Temperature (30)
t3 = Temperature (20)
print ( t1 == t3 )
print ( t1 < t2 )
print ( bool ( t1 ) )
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 10 / 26
Arithmetic Operator Methods
__add__(self, other): Addition (+)
__sub__(self, other): Subtraction (-)
__mul__(self, other): Multiplication (*)
__truediv__(self, other): Division (/)
__floordiv__(self, other): Floor division (//)
__mod__(self, other): Modulo (
__pow__(self, other): Power (**)
There are also right-side versions (__radd__, __rsub__, etc.)
And in-place versions (__iadd__, __isub__, etc.)
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Arithmetic Operator Example
class Vector :
def __init__ ( self , x , y ) :
self . x = x
self . y = y
def __add__ ( self , other ) :
if isinstance ( other , Vector ) :
return Vector ( self . x + other .x , self . y + other . y
)
return NotImplemented
def __mul__ ( self , scalar ) :
if isinstance ( scalar , ( int , float ) ) :
return Vector ( self . x * scalar , self . y * scalar )
return NotImplemented
def __rmul__ ( self , scalar ) :
# Called when scalar * vector
return self . __mul__ ( scalar )
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def __str__ ( self ) :
return f " Vector ({ self . x } , { self . y }) "
v1 = Vector (1 , 2)
v2 = Vector (3 , 4)
print ( v1 + v2 )
print ( v1 * 3)
print (2 * v2 )
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Unary Operators and Functions
__neg__(self): Negation (-obj)
__pos__(self): Positive (+obj)
__abs__(self): Absolute value (abs(obj))
__round__(self, n): Rounding (round(obj, n))
__floor__(self): Floor ([Link](obj))
__ceil__(self): Ceiling ([Link](obj))
__trunc__(self): Truncation ([Link](obj))
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Unary Example
class Angle :
def __init__ ( self , degrees ) :
self . degrees = degrees % 360
def __neg__ ( self ) :
return Angle ( - self . degrees )
def __abs__ ( self ) :
return Angle ( abs ( self . degrees ) )
def __round__ ( self , n =0) :
return Angle ( round ( self . degrees , n ) )
def __str__ ( self ) :
return f " { self . degrees } "
angle = Angle (45)
print ( - angle ) # 315
print ( abs ( Angle ( -30) ) ) # 30
print ( round ( Angle (47.8) ) ) # 48
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 15 / 26
Container Magic Methods
__len__(self): Length (len(obj))
__getitem__(self, key): Item access (obj[key])
__setitem__(self, key, value): Item assignment (obj[key] =
value)
__delitem__(self, key): Item deletion (del obj[key])
__contains__(self, item): Membership test (item in obj)
__iter__(self): Iteration (for x in obj)
__reversed__(self): Reversed iteration (reversed(obj))
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class ShoppingCart :
def __init__ ( self ) :
self . items = {} # item -> quantity
def add ( self , item , quantity =1) :
self . items [ item ] = self . items . get ( item , 0) +
quantity
def __getitem__ ( self , item ) :
return self . items . get ( item , 0)
def __setitem__ ( self , item , quantity ) :
if quantity <= 0:
if item in self . items :
del self . items [ item ]
else :
self . items [ item ] = quantity
def __len__ ( self ) :
return sum ( self . items . values () )
def __contains__ ( self , item ) :
return item in self . items
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def __iter__ ( self ) :
for item , quantity in self . items . items () :
for _ in range ( quantity ) :
yield item
def __str__ ( self ) :
if not self . items :
return " Empty Cart "
return " \ n " . join ( f " { q } x { i } " for i , q in self . items .
items () )
cart = ShoppingCart ()
cart . add ( " apple " , 3)
cart . add ( " banana " , 2)
print ( len ( cart ) )
print ( " apple " in cart )
print ( cart [ " apple " ])
cart [ " orange " ] = 4
del cart [ " banana " ]
for item in cart :
print ( f " Item : { item } " )
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 18 / 26
Callable Objects
__call__(self, ...): Makes object callable like a function
Allows an instance to be called as a function: instance()
Useful for:
Function-like objects (functors)
Objects that maintain state between calls
Callback objects
Implementing decorators
class Counter :
def __init__ ( self ) :
self . count = 0
def __call__ ( self ) :
self . count += 1
return self . count
c = Counter ()
print ( c () ) # 1
print ( c () ) # 2
print ( c () ) # 3
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 19 / 26
Context Managers
__enter__(self): Enter the context (with obj as x:)
__exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb): Exit the
context
Used to manage resources (files, locks, connections)
Ensures proper cleanup even if exceptions occur
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Context Managers
class Data base Conn ec tion :
def __init__ ( self , db_name ) :
self . db_name = db_name
self . connected = False
def __enter__ ( self ) :
print ( f " Connecting to { self . db_name } " )
self . connected = True
return self # The object assigned to the ' as '
variable
def __exit__ ( self , exc_type , exc_val , exc_tb ) :
print ( f " Disconnecting from { self . db_name } " )
self . connected = False
# Return True to suppress exceptions , False to
propagate
with Datab aseConne ct ion ( " users . db " ) as db :
print ( f " Connected : { db . connected } " )
# Do database operations
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 21 / 26
Attribute Access Magic Methods
__getattr__(self, name): Called when attribute lookup fails
__getattribute__(self, name): Called for all attribute access
__setattr__(self, name, value): Called when setting
attributes
__delattr__(self, name): Called when deleting attributes
__dir__(self): Called by dir() function
class Dyna micAttributes :
def __getattr__ ( self , name ) :
return f " Attribute { name } not found "
def __setattr__ ( self , name , value ) :
print ( f " Setting { name } to { value } " )
super () . __setattr__ ( name , value )
obj = DynamicAttributes ()
obj . x = 10 # Setting x to 10
print ( obj . y ) # Attribute y not found
Emmanuel Ali(PhD) 2nd Semester May 21, 2026 22 / 26
Hashing and Copying
__hash__(self): Hash function for dictionaries and sets
__copy__(self): Create a shallow copy ([Link]())
__deepcopy__(self, memo): Create a deep copy
([Link]())
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Hashing and Copying
import copy
class Point :
def __init__ ( self , x , y ) :
self . x = x
self . y = y
def __eq__ ( self , other ) :
if not isinstance ( other , Point ) :
return NotImplemented
return self . x == other . x and self . y == other . y
def __hash__ ( self ) :
return hash (( self .x , self . y ) )
def __copy__ ( self ) :
return Point ( self .x , self . y )
p1 = Point (1 , 2)
p2 = copy . copy ( p1 ) # Uses __copy__
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Exercise:
Create a class named BankAccount. When initializing an instance, it
must accept and store:
owner (string): The name of the account holder.
balance (float): The starting financial balance.
Implement the following behaviors inside your BankAccount class:
1. Text Representation (__str__): Should return a clean,
reader-friendly string format.
Example Output: "Account Holder: Ayo | Balance: $1500.00"
2. Combining Accounts (__add__): Allows two accounts to be
combined using the + operator. It should return a new BankAccount
instance where:
The new owner name combines both (e.g., "Ayo & Chidi").
The new balance is the sum of both accounts’ balances.
3. Comparing Balances (__lt__): Allows accounts to be evaluated
using the less-than (<) operator based purely on their numeric balance.
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Exercise: Test Your Implementation
Add the following test execution block at the bottom of your script to
verify your logic:
acc1 = BankAccount ( " Ayo " , 1500.00)
acc2 = BankAccount ( " Chidi " , 2500.50)
print ( acc1 ) # Expected : Account Holder : Alice | Balance :
$1500 .00
if acc1 < acc2 :
print ( f " { acc1 . owner } has less money than { acc2 . owner }. " )
joint = acc1 + acc2
print ( joint ) # Expected : Account Holder : Alice & Bob |
Balance : $4000 .50
Addition
Implement __eq__ to compare equality (==) of balances.
Add Type Checking to __add__ so adding an integer/float directly
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