Class method differences in Python: bound, unbound and static

Question

What is the difference between the following class methods?

Is it that one is static and the other is not?

class Test(object):
  def method_one(self)         


        

Answer 1

The second one won't work because when you call it like that python internally tries to call it with the a_test instance as the first argument, but your method_two doesn't accept any arguments, so it wont work, you'll get a runtime error. If you want the equivalent of a static method you can use a class method. There's much less need for class methods in Python than static methods in languages like Java or C#. Most often the best solution is to use a method in the module, outside a class definition, those work more efficiently than class methods.