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Ingrid Matthews
1,465 PointsWhat is the difference between function(thing) and thing.function()?
This is a basic question, I'm not referring to a specific code here. Trying to understand these two kinds of syntax.
1 Answer
Victor Mercier
14,667 PointsHi Ingrid,
In the first case, you are passing an argument to a function For example:
# Define a function `plus()`
def plus(a,b):
return a + b
To call the function, you would do plus(2,3)
In the second case, you are calling a method on an object: For example:
# Create a `Summation` class
class Summation(object):
def sum(self, a, b):
self.contents = a + b
return self.contents
To call the function on the method, you would be doing Summation.sum(1,2) If that helped you , do not forget to mark as best answer to indicate your issue is resolved!
Ingrid Matthews
1,465 PointsIngrid Matthews
1,465 PointsThanks so much. I still don't see the use of both the dot and the parentheses together ( thing.function() ).
In your example, if the contents of self are a + b, are there 3 parameters in the method (a, b, and a+b)?
I understand that the first example is calling a function. Is it right that a method is a type of function? But if it's a method (that is, within a class) it's called with the dot? What would empty parentheses be for?