Built In Class Attributes
Every Python class automatically comes with a set of built-in attributes that provide useful information about the class itself, without you needing to define them manually.
Common Built-In Class Attributes
__dict__- a dictionary containing the class's namespace, including its attributes and methods__doc__- the class's docstring, if one has been written__name__- the name of the class as a string__module__- the name of the module in which the class was defined__bases__- a tuple containing the class's parent (base) classes
class Student:
"""Represents a student enrolled in a course."""
def __init__(self, name):
self.name = name
print(Student.__name__) # Student
print(Student.__doc__) # Represents a student enrolled in a course.
print(Student.__module__) # __main__These built-in attributes are especially useful for debugging, introspection, and writing generic code that needs to inspect classes without knowing their exact structure in advance.
Coming Up Next
Next, you'll learn how Python controls access to class attributes and methods through public, protected, and private conventions.