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The truth about objects

Track:
Python Internals & Ecosystem
Type:
Talk
Level:
intermediate
Room:
Forum Hall
Start:
14:35 on 12 July 2024
Duration:
30 minutes

Abstract

“Everything in Python is an object.” This is a profound truth about Python, but what does it mean? Is literally EVERYTHING an object? And what is an object anyway? Are objects the same as instances of a class? How do classes and types really work in Python? And what do metaclasses have to do with anything?

In fact, the answers to these questions are probably not what you think they are - Python’s approach to objects is different from most other languages in sometimes surprising ways.

This talk will use simple live coded examples to explore how objects work in Python and clear up several common misconceptions and misunderstandings about how objects and instances, classes and types, and metaclasses all work together.

Be warned - you are likely to be surprised when you learn the truth about objects in Python.

The speaker

Naomi Ceder

Naomi Ceder

Naomi Ceder earned a Ph.D in Classics several decades ago, but switched from ancient human languages to computer languages sometime in the last century. Since 2001, she has been learning, teaching, writing about, and using Python.

An elected fellow of the Python Software Foundation, Naomi is a past chair of its board of directors, and in 2022 became the seventh person selected to receive the PSF Distinguished Service Award. A founder of Trans*Code, a hackday centered on the trans and non-binary community, she also speaks internationally about the Python community and inclusion and diversity in technology in general. In her spare time Naomi enjoys playing classical guitar.