You can assign values to an instance using dot notation:
>>> blank.x = 3.0>>> blank.y = 4.0
This syntax is similar to the syntax for selecting a variable from a module, such as math.pi or string.whitespace. In this case, though, we are assigning values to named elements of an object. These elements are called attributes.
As a noun, “AT-trib-ute” is pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable, as opposed to “a-TRIB-ute,” which is a verb.
The following diagram shows the result of these assignments. A state diagram that shows an object and its attributes is called an object diagram; see Figure 15.1.
The variable blank refers to a Point object, which contains two attributes. Each attribute refers to a floating-point number.
You can read the value of an attribute using the same syntax:
>>> print blank.y4.0>>> x = blank.x>>> print x3.0
The expression blank.x means, “Go to the object blank refers to and get the value of x.” In this case, we assign that value to a variable named x. There is no conflict between the variable x and the attribute x.
You can use dot notation as part of any expression. For example:
>>> print '(%g, %g)' % (blank.x, blank.y)(3.0, 4.0)>>> distance = math.sqrt(blank.x**2 + blank.y**2)>>> print distance5.0
You can pass an instance as an argument in the usual way. For example:
def print_point(p):print '(%g, %g)' % (p.x, p.y)
print_point takes a point as an argument and displays it in mathematical notation. To invoke it, you can pass blank as an argument:
>>> print_point(blank)(3.0, 4.0)
Inside the function, p is an alias for blank, so if the function modifies p, blank changes.
Exercise 15.1.Write a function called distance_between_pointsthat takes two Points as argumentsand returns the distance between them.
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