Class and Object Terms
The foundations of Object-Oriented Programming is defining a Class
- In Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), a class is a blueprint for creating an Object. (a data structure). An Object is used like many other Python variables.
 - A Class has ...
 
- a collection of data, these are called Attributes and in Python are pre-fixed using the keyword self
 - a collection of Functions/Procedures. These are called *Methods when they exist inside a Class definition.
 - An Object is created from the Class/Template. Characteristics of objects ...
 
- an Object is an Instance of the Class/Template
 - there can be many Objects created from the same Class
 - each Object contains its own Instance Data
 - the data is setup by the Constructor, this is the "init" method in a Python class
 - all methods in the Class/Template become part of the Object, methods are accessed using dot notation (object.method())
 - A Python Class allow for the definition of @ decorators, these allow access to instance data without the use of functions ...
 
- @property decorator (aka getter). This enables developers to reference/get instance data in a shorthand fashion (object.name versus object.get_name())
 - @name.setter decorator (aka setter). This enables developers to update/set instance data in a shorthand fashion (object.name = "John" versus object.set_name("John"))
 - observe all instance data (self._name, self.email ...) are prefixed with "", this convention allows setters and getters to work with more natural variable name (name, email ...)
 
# A gateway in necessary as a web server cannot communicate directly with Python.
# In this case, imports are focused on generating hash code to protect passwords.
from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash, check_password_hash
import json
# Define a User Class/Template
# -- A User represents the data we want to manage
class User:    
    # constructor of a User object, initializes the instance variables within object (self)
    def __init__(self, name, uid, password):
        self._name = name    # variables with self prefix become part of the object, 
        self._uid = uid
        self.set_password(password)
    # a name getter method, extracts name from object
    @property
    def name(self):
        return self._name
    
    # a setter function, allows name to be updated after initial object creation
    @name.setter
    def name(self, name):
        self._name = name
    
    # a getter method, extracts email from object
    @property
    def uid(self):
        return self._uid
    
    # a setter function, allows name to be updated after initial object creation
    @uid.setter
    def uid(self, uid):
        self._uid = uid
        
    # check if uid parameter matches user id in object, return boolean
    def is_uid(self, uid):
        return self._uid == uid
    
    @property
    def password(self):
        return self._password[0:10] + "..." # because of security only show 1st characters
    # update password, this is conventional setter
    def set_password(self, password):
        """Create a hashed password."""
        self._password = generate_password_hash(password, method='sha256')
    # check password parameter versus stored/encrypted password
    def is_password(self, password):
        """Check against hashed password."""
        result = check_password_hash(self._password, password)
        return result
    
    # output content using str(object) in human readable form, uses getter
    def __str__(self):
        return f'name: "{self.name}", id: "{self.uid}", psw: "{self.password}"'
    # output command to recreate the object, uses attribute directly
    def __repr__(self):
        return f'Person(name={self._name}, uid={self._uid}, password={self._password})'
# tester method to print users
def tester(users, uid, psw):
    result = None
    for user in users:
        # test for match in database
        if user.uid == uid and user.is_password(psw):  # check for match
            print("* ", end="")
            result = user
        # print using __str__ method
        print(str(user))
    return result
        
# place tester code inside of special if!  This allows include without tester running
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # define user objects
    u1 = User(name='Thomas Edison', uid='toby', password='123toby')
    u2 = User(name='Nicholas Tesla', uid='nick', password='123nick')
    u3 = User(name='Alexander Graham Bell', uid='lex', password='123lex')
    u4 = User(name='Eli Whitney', uid='eli', password='123eli')
    u5 = User(name='Hedy Lemarr', uid='hedy', password='123hedy')
    # put user objects in list for convenience
    users = [u1, u2, u3, u4, u5]
    # Find user
    print("Test 1, find user 3")
    u = tester(users, u3.uid, "123lex")
    # Change user
    print("Test 2, change user 3")
    u.name = "John Mortensen"
    u.uid = "jm1021"
    u.set_password("123qwerty")
    u = tester(users, u.uid, "123qwerty")
    # Make dictionary
    ''' 
    The __dict__ in Python represents a dictionary or any mapping object that is used to store the attributes of the object. 
    Every object in Python has an attribute that is denoted by __dict__. 
    Use the json.dumps() method to convert the list of Users to a JSON string.
    '''
    print("Test 3, make a dictionary")
    json_string = json.dumps([user.__dict__ for user in users]) 
    print(json_string)
    print("Test 4, make a dictionary")
    json_string = json.dumps([vars(user) for user in users]) 
    print(json_string)
Hacks
Add new attributes/variables to the Class. Make class specific to your CPT work.
- Add classOf attribute to define year of graduation
 
- Add setter and getter for classOf
 - Add dob attribute to define date of birth
 
- This will require investigation into Python datetime objects as shown in example code below
 - Add setter and getter for dob
 - Add instance variable for age, make sure if dob changes age changes
 
- Add getter for age, but don't add/allow setter for age
 - Update and format tester function to work with changes
 Start a class design for each of your own Full Stack CPT sections of your project
- Use new
 code cellin this notebook- Define init and self attributes
 - Define setters and getters
 - Make a tester
 
from datetime import date
import json
#age = calculate_age(dob)
#print(age)
def calculate_age(born):
        today = date.today()
        return today.year - born.year - ((today.month, today.day) < (born.month, born.day))
def calculate_class(dob):
    today = date.today()
    age = today.year - dob.year - ((today.month, today.day) < (dob.month, dob.day))
    if(dob.month<=8): # If they had to start school one year late, add 1 year to age to make life easier
        age+=1
    # Everyone will now graduate when they are 18
    timeSinceGrad = age - 18
    return today.year - timeSinceGrad 
class User:
    def __init__(self, name, dob):
        self._name = name    # variables with self prefix become part of the object, 
        self._dob = dob
        self._age = calculate_age(dob)
        self._classOf = calculate_class(dob)
    # Setters and getters
    @property
    def name(self):
        return self._name
    @name.setter
    def name(self, name):
        self._name = name
    
    @property
    def dob(self):
        return self._dob
    @dob.setter
    def dob(self, dob):
        self._name = dob
    
    @property
    def age(self):
        return self._age
    @age.setter
    def age(self, age):
        self._age = age
    @property
    def classOf(self):
        return self._classOf
    @classOf.setter
    def classOf(self, classOf):
        self._classOf = classOf
#userTest = User(name='Fredrick', dob=date(2004, 12, 31))
#print(userTest.classOf)
# tester method to print users
def tester(users, name, dob, age, classOf):
    result = None
    for user in users:
        # test for match in database
        if user.name == name and user.dob == dob and user.age == age and user.classOf == classOf:  # check for match
            print("* ", end="")
            result = user
        # print using __str__ method
        print(str(user))
    return result
        
# place tester code inside of special if!  This allows include without tester running
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # define user objects
    u1 = User(name='Thomas Edison', dob=date(2004, 12, 31))
    u2 = User(name='Nicholas Tesla', dob=date(1840, 6, 12))
    u3 = User(name='Alexander Graham Bell', dob=date(1983, 1, 14))
    u4 = User(name='Eli Whitney', dob=date(2000, 10, 8))
    u5 = User(name='Hedy Lemarr', dob=date(2020, 3, 1))
    # put user objects in list for convenience
    users = [u1, u2, u3, u4, u5]
    # Find user
    print("Test 1, find user 3")
    u = tester(users, 'Alexander Graham Bell', date(1983, 1, 14), 40, 2001)
    u = users[3]
    # Change user
    print("Test 2, change user 3")
    u.name = "John Mortensen"
    u.dob = date(2004, 12, 31)
    #u._age = calculateAge(u._dob)
   #u.classOf(u._dob)
    # Make dictionary
    ''' 
    The __dict__ in Python represents a dictionary or any mapping object that is used to store the attributes of the object. 
    Every object in Python has an attribute that is denoted by __dict__. 
    Use the json.dumps() method to convert the list of Users to a JSON string.
    '''
    print("Test 3, print all")
    #json_string = json.dumps(User(name='Thomas Edison', dob=date(2004, 12, 31))) 
    #for user in users:
        # print("Name:", user.name())
        # print("DOB:", user.dob())
        # print("Age:", user.age())
        # print("Class:", user.classOf())
    print("Test 4, make a dictionary")
    # json_string = json.dumps([vars(user) for user in users]) 
    # print(json_string)
Definitions
After researching OOP, here is some important vocabulary
- Class:a blueprint for creating objects (or instances).- Object: an instance of a class.
 - Method: a function that is associated with a class and its objects.
 - Inheritance: when a class inherits properties and methods from a parent class.
 - Polymorphism: the ability of a class or its objects to take on multiple forms.
 - Encapsulation: the practice of keeping an object's properties and methods private, and only allowing access through a public interface.
 - Abstraction: the process of hiding implementation details and only showing the necessary information to the user.
 - Overriding: when a subclass has a method with the same name as a method in its parent class and provides a new implementation.
 - Overloading: when a class has multiple methods with the same name but different parameters.
 - Constructor: a special method that is called when an object is created from a class and is used to set up the object's initial state.
 - Destructor: a special method that is called when an object is about to be destroyed and is used to clean up any resources that the object was using.
 - Interface: A class with no implementation details, only declares the methods.
 - Property: A variable that is associated with a class, similar to an attribute.
 - Namespace: A container that holds a set of identifiers, in python the name of a variable, function, class, etc.