Guide to Pythons Magic Methods

Rafe Kettler

Copyright © 2012 Rafe Kettler
Version 1.17

A PDF version of this guide can be obtained from my site or Github.
The magic methods guide has
a git repository at http://www.github.com/RafeKettler/magicmethods.

Any issues can be reported there, along with comments, (or even contributions!).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Construction and Initialization
3. Making Operators Work on Custom Classes
   • Comparison magic methods
   • Numeric magic methods
4. Representing your Classes
5. Controlling Attribute Access
6. Making Custom Sequences
7. Reflection
8. Abstract Base Classes
9. Callable Objects
10. Context Managers
11. Building Descriptor Objects
12. Copying
13. Pickling your Objects
14. Conclusion
15. Appendix 1: How to Call Magic Methods
16. Appendix 2: Changes in Python 3