Instance method

Definition

An instance method is a function defined inside a class that operates on instances of that class. It can access and modify the data attributes of the instance.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Instance methods must include 'self' as their first parameter to refer to the instance calling the method.
2. They can access and modify instance variables using 'self'.
3. Instance methods are called on objects, not on the class itself.
4. They can call other instance methods using 'self.method_name()'.
5. Instance methods help encapsulate behavior specific to an object.

Review Questions

• Why is 'self' used as the first parameter in an instance method?
• How do you call an instance method from another instance method within the same class?
• Can you access class attributes directly from an instance method? If so, how?

Related terms

Class Method: A method that is bound to the class and not the instance of the class. It uses 'cls' as its first parameter.

@staticmethod: A decorator to define a static method which does not modify or access any class or instance-specific data.

__init__ Method: The constructor method in Python classes, called when an object is instantiated. It initializes the object's attributes.