Advanced Object-Oriented Python
The OOP principles and Python-specific tools: polymorphism, encapsulation, properties, descriptors, ABCs and metaclasses.
Python's OOP is flexible: "duck typing" means what matters is what an object can do, not what it inherits from.
Sub-topics (11)
Polymorphism
Different classes respond to the same method call in their own way.
Encapsulation
Keep an object's internal state behind methods; Python uses naming conventions rather than enforced privacy.
Abstraction
Expose what an object does and hide how it does it.
Method Overriding
A subclass replaces a parent method with its own version, optionally calling the parent via super().
Method Overloading Patterns
Python has no signature-based overloading; use default arguments, *args or functools.singledispatch instead.
Properties
@property turns a method into an attribute-like getter, with optional setter validation.
Descriptors
Objects that control attribute access on another class via __get__, __set__ and __delete__ — the machinery behind properties and methods.
Abstract Base Classes
abc.ABC and @abstractmethod define interfaces that subclasses must implement.
Multiple Inheritance and the MRO
A class can inherit from several bases; Python resolves methods with the C3 Method Resolution Order.
Metaclasses
The class of a class: metaclasses customise how classes themselves are created.
Dataclasses
@dataclass writes __init__, __repr__ and __eq__ for classes that mainly hold data.
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