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Python

Posted by Simon Dein
Simon Dein
4,772 Points

The difference between 'class' and 'type'

I've come across several forums and articles talking about classes in Python. And no matter how many times i've read the definitions being given - i haven't come one bit closer to knowing the difference. I haven't yet come across any definitions of 'class' on here. Can someone explain this in a simple manner.

2 Answers

jcorum
jcorum
71,830 Points

Simon, here's something from the net that might help:

"In the olden days, there was a difference between user-defined classes and built in types. But since 2.2, as long as you're using "new-style" classes (classes that inherit from object in 2.x, and are default in 3.x), there is no real difference. Essentially, a class is a mechanism Python gives us to create new user-defined types from Python code."

http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2012/03/30/python-objects-types-classes-and-instances-a-glossary

Simon Dein
Simon Dein
4,772 Points
Simon Dein
Simon Dein
4,772 Points

Ah - That makes so much more sense then. Thanks! :)