How do you create a class in Python?

In Python, you create a class using the class keyword, followed by the class name (by convention, in PascalCase) and a colon. Inside the class, you define attributes (variables) and methods (functions) that describe the behavior of the objects created from that class.

Here’s a structured example:

# Define a class
class Employee:
    # Constructor (__init__) – runs when an object is created
    def __init__(self, name, salary):
        self.name = name       # public attribute
        self.__salary = salary # private attribute

    # Method to display employee info
    def display_info(self):
        print(f"Employee Name: {self.name}, Salary: {self.__salary}")

    # Getter for private attribute (Encapsulation)
    def get_salary(self):
        return self.__salary

    # Setter for private attribute
    def set_salary(self, amount):
        if amount > 0:
            self.__salary = amount

Creating Objects #

Once the class is defined, you can create instances (objects) of the class:

emp1 = Employee("Aswini", 5000)
emp2 = Employee("Kumar", 10000)

Accessing Methods and Attributes #

emp1.display_info()           # Employee Name: Aswini, Salary: 5000
print(emp2.get_salary())      # 10000
emp2.set_salary(12000)
print(emp2.get_salary())      # 12000

Key Points #

1. __init__ constructor: Initializes object attributes when a new object is created.
2. Public and private attributes: Public (e.g., name) can be accessed directly; private (e.g., __salary) are accessed via getters/setters.
3. Methods: Functions defined inside a class describe behavior of objects.
4. self: Represents the current instance of the class and is used to access attributes and methods.

Practical Use #

I’ve used classes like this in a reporting system to represent users, reports, and notifications. Each report was an object with attributes like title, data, and status, and methods like generate() or send_email(). Using classes made the code modular and reusable, especially when scaling to handle multiple report types.