Python Classes and Inheritance

Python Classes and Inheritance

This course is part of Python 3 Programming Specialization

Instructors: Steve Oney

What you'll learn

Explore classes, instances, and inheritance to represent data efficiently.
Gain insights into class design and cultivate the practice of writing automated tests for your code.
Learn to override built-in methods and create inherited classes that reuse functionality.

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Assessments

2 assignments

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Python 3 Programming Specialization

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There are 4 modules in this course

This course introduces classes, instances, and inheritance. You will learn how to use classes to represent data in concise and natural ways. You'll also learn how to override built-in methods and how to create "inherited" classes that reuse functionality. You'll also learn about how to design classes. Finally, you will be introduced to the good programming habit of writing automated tests for their own code.

The course is best-suited for you if you are already familiar with Python fundamentals, which are covered in the "Python Basics" and "Python Functions, Files, and Dictionaries" courses (courses 1 and 2 of the Python 3 Programming Specialization). It is optional to have taken the "Data Collection and Processing with Python" course (course 3 of the specialization), but knowledge of retrieving and processing complex nested data is helpful. This is the fourth of five courses in the Python 3 Programming Specialization.

An introduction to the course

What's included

5 videos2 readings1 ungraded lab

5 videosTotal 42 minutes

Introduction to the Specialization11 minutesPreview module
What’s New? Updates and Improvements in the Second Edition2 minutes
Welcome to Python Classes and Inheritance3 minutes
How to Use the Interactive Textbook14 minutes
Executing Python in the Jupyter Environment (Optional)11 minutes

2 readingsTotal 20 minutes

Syllabus10 minutes
Help Us Learn More About You!10 minutes

1 ungraded labTotal 60 minutes

(Optional) Getting Started with Jupyter Notebooks60 minutes

In this module, lectures and activities from the Runestone textbook will cover more complex data structures. By the end of this week, you will have learned how to process json formatted data, traverse nested data using nested iteration, and extract values from nested data.

What's included

17 videos1 assignment1 programming assignment15 app items1 ungraded lab

17 videosTotal 74 minutes

Introduction: Constructing Classes1 minutePreview module
User-Defined Classes9 minutes
Adding Parameters to the Constructor3 minutes
Adding Other Methods to a Class6 minutes
Instance Variable Search Order2 minutes
Private and Public Instance Variables7 minutes
Example: Creating Instances from Data6 minutes
Conclusion: Constructing Classes1 minute
Introduction: Objects and Instances1 minute
Converting an Object to a String3 minutes
Special (dunderscore) Methods3 minutes
Instances as Return Values3 minutes
Sorting Lists of Instances9 minutes
Class Variables and Instance Variables6 minutes
Thinking About Classes and Instances1 minute
Testing Classes6 minutes
Conclusion: Objects and Instances1 minute

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Optional - What Did You Use to Practice This Week?30 minutes

1 programming assignmentTotal 60 minutes

Assessment - Classes60 minutes

15 app itemsTotal 145 minutes

Use the Runestone Practice Tool5 minutes
Introduction: Classes and Objects - The Basics10 minutes
Objects Revisited10 minutes
User Defined Classes10 minutes
Adding Parameters to the Constructor10 minutes
Adding Other Methods to a Class10 minutes
Public and Private Instance Variables10 minutes
Objects as Arguments and Parameters10 minutes
Converting an Object to a String10 minutes
Instances as Return Values10 minutes
Sorting Lists of Instances10 minutes
Class Variables and Instance Variables10 minutes
Thinking About Classes and Instances10 minutes
Testing Classes10 minutes
A Tamagotchi Game10 minutes

1 ungraded labTotal 60 minutes

Optional Lab - Classes60 minutes

What's included

12 videos1 assignment1 programming assignment9 app items1 ungraded lab

12 videosTotal 70 minutes

Introduction: Inheritance2 minutesPreview module
Inheriting Variables and Methods7 minutes
Overriding Methods10 minutes
Invoking the Parent Class's Method3 minutes
Multiple Inheritance2 minutes
Conclusion: Inheritance2 minutes
Introduction: Decorators0 minutes
Function Wrapping and Decorators20 minutes
Decorators with Classes8 minutes
Property Decorators7 minutes
Method Decorators4 minutes
Outro: Decorators0 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Optional - What Did You Use to Practice This Week?30 minutes

1 programming assignmentTotal 60 minutes

Assessment - Inheritance60 minutes

9 app itemsTotal 85 minutes

Use the Runestone Practice Tool5 minutes
Introduction: Class Inheritance10 minutes
Inheriting Variables and Methods10 minutes
Overriding Methods10 minutes
Invoking the Parent Class's Method10 minutes
Multiple Inheritance10 minutes
Tamagotchi Revisited10 minutes
Function Wrapping and Decorators10 minutes
Decorators with Classes10 minutes

1 ungraded labTotal 60 minutes

Optional Lab - Inheritance60 minutes

What's included

17 videos2 readings3 programming assignments4 app items1 ungraded lab

17 videosTotal 99 minutes

Introduction: More Advanced Functions0 minutesPreview module
Adding Documentation to Functions using Docstrings3 minutes
Dynamic Positional Arguments with *args5 minutes
Dynamic Keyword Arguments with **kwargs7 minutes
Decorators with arguments4 minutes
Built-in decorators in the functools module12 minutes
Outro: More Advanced Functions0 minutes
Introduction: Exceptions0 minutes
Exception Handling Flow-of-control6 minutes
Handling Different Exception Types6 minutes
Exception Instances4 minutes
When to use Try/Except3 minutes
Conclusion: Exceptions0 minutes
Debugging with Break Points6 minutes
Introduction to Django17 minutes
How Django Uses Classes and Inheritance14 minutes
Introduction - Final Course Project4 minutes

2 readingsTotal 20 minutes

Course Feedback10 minutes
Keep Learning with Michigan Online10 minutes

3 programming assignmentsTotal 180 minutes

Assessment - Decorators60 minutes
Assessment - Exceptions60 minutes
Assessment - Project: Wheel of Python60 minutes

4 app itemsTotal 35 minutes

Use the Runestone Practice Tool5 minutes
Exceptions10 minutes
When to use Try/Except10 minutes
Standard Exceptions10 minutes

1 ungraded labTotal 60 minutes

Optional Lab - Try Except60 minutes

Instructors

Instructor ratings

4.7 (430 ratings)

Steve Oney

University of Michigan

8 Courses514,468 learners

Offered by

University of Michigan

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Reviewed on Oct 26, 2019

Good continuation of the first three courses in this specialization. Clear introduction to classes, and nice survey of testing, exceptions, with a fun little game project at the end.

Reviewed on Jun 18, 2020

The overall course is really good. The amount of content is less than the rest of the previous courses. The final course project was the most challenging of the whole specialization so far.

Reviewed on May 4, 2020

Really loved it! Thanks a lot for this one again, learnt quite a bunch about the classes and how to use them - will definetely help me in my professional level quite soon!

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