Class with too many parameters: better design strategy?

Question

I am working with models of neurons. One class I am designing is a cell class which is a topological description of a neuron (several compartments connected together). It ha

Answer 1

UPDATE: This approach may be suited in your specific case, but it definitely has its downsides, see is kwargs an antipattern?

Try this approach:

class Neuron(object):

    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
        prop_defaults = {
            "num_axon_segments": 0, 
            "apical_bifibrications": "fancy default",
            ...
        }
        
        for (prop, default) in prop_defaults.iteritems():
            setattr(self, prop, kwargs.get(prop, default))

You can then create a Neuron like this:

n = Neuron(apical_bifibrications="special value")