Static methods in Python?

Question

Is it possible to have static methods in Python which I could call without initializing a class, like:

ClassName.static_method()

Answer 1

I think that Steven is actually right. To answer the original question, then, in order to set up a class method, simply assume that the first argument is not going to be a calling instance, and then make sure that you only call the method from the class.

(Note that this answer refers to Python 3.x. In Python 2.x you'll get a TypeError for calling the method on the class itself.)

For example:

class Dog:
    count = 0 # this is a class variable
    dogs = [] # this is a class variable

    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name #self.name is an instance variable
        Dog.count += 1
        Dog.dogs.append(name)

    def bark(self, n): # this is an instance method
        print("{} says: {}".format(self.name, "woof! " * n))

    def rollCall(n): #this is implicitly a class method (see comments below)
        print("There are {} dogs.".format(Dog.count))
        if n >= len(Dog.dogs) or n < 0:
            print("They are:")
            for dog in Dog.dogs:
                print("  {}".format(dog))
        else:
            print("The dog indexed at {} is {}.".format(n, Dog.dogs[n]))

fido = Dog("Fido")
fido.bark(3)
Dog.rollCall(-1)
rex = Dog("Rex")
Dog.rollCall(0)

In this code, the "rollCall" method assumes that the first argument is not an instance (as it would be if it were called by an instance instead of a class). As long as "rollCall" is called from the class rather than an instance, the code will work fine. If we try to call "rollCall" from an instance, e.g.:

rex.rollCall(-1)

however, it would cause an exception to be raised because it would send two arguments: itself and -1, and "rollCall" is only defined to accept one argument.

Incidentally, rex.rollCall() would send the correct number of arguments, but would also cause an exception to be raised because now n would be representing a Dog instance (i.e., rex) when the function expects n to be numerical.

This is where the decoration comes in: If we precede the "rollCall" method with

@staticmethod

then, by explicitly stating that the method is static, we can even call it from an instance. Now,

rex.rollCall(-1)

would work. The insertion of @staticmethod before a method definition, then, stops an instance from sending itself as an argument.

You can verify this by trying the following code with and without the @staticmethod line commented out.

class Dog:
    count = 0 # this is a class variable
    dogs = [] # this is a class variable

    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name #self.name is an instance variable
        Dog.count += 1
        Dog.dogs.append(name)

    def bark(self, n): # this is an instance method
        print("{} says: {}".format(self.name, "woof! " * n))

    @staticmethod
    def rollCall(n):
        print("There are {} dogs.".format(Dog.count))
        if n >= len(Dog.dogs) or n < 0:
            print("They are:")
            for dog in Dog.dogs:
                print("  {}".format(dog))
        else:
            print("The dog indexed at {} is {}.".format(n, Dog.dogs[n]))


fido = Dog("Fido")
fido.bark(3)
Dog.rollCall(-1)
rex = Dog("Rex")
Dog.rollCall(0)
rex.rollCall(-1)