# Python classes
PyO3 exposes a group of attributes powered by Rust's proc macro system for defining Python classes as Rust structs.
The main attribute is `#[pyclass]`, which is placed upon a Rust `struct` or `enum` to generate a Python type for it. They will usually also have *one* `#[pymethods]`-annotated `impl` block for the struct, which is used to define Python methods and constants for the generated Python type. (If the [`multiple-pymethods`] feature is enabled, each `#[pyclass]` is allowed to have multiple `#[pymethods]` blocks.) `#[pymethods]` may also have implementations for Python magic methods such as `__str__`.
This chapter will discuss the functionality and configuration these attributes offer. Below is a list of links to the relevant section of this chapter for each:
- [`#[pyclass]`](#defining-a-new-class)
- [`#[pyo3(get, set)]`](#object-properties-using-pyo3get-set)
- [`#[pymethods]`](#instance-methods)
- [`#[new]`](#constructor)
- [`#[getter]`](#object-properties-using-getter-and-setter)
- [`#[setter]`](#object-properties-using-getter-and-setter)
- [`#[staticmethod]`](#static-methods)
- [`#[classmethod]`](#class-methods)
- [`#[classattr]`](#class-attributes)
- [`#[args]`](#method-arguments)
- [Magic methods and slots](class/protocols.md)
- [Classes as function arguments](#classes-as-function-arguments)
## Defining a new class
To define a custom Python class, add the `#[pyclass]` attribute to a Rust struct or enum.
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {
inner: i32,
}
// A "tuple" struct
#[pyclass]
struct Number(i32);
// PyO3 supports unit-only enums (which contain only unit variants)
// These simple enums behave similarly to Python's enumerations (enum.Enum)
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int)]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum MyEnum {
Variant,
OtherVariant = 30, // PyO3 supports custom discriminants.
}
// PyO3 supports custom discriminants in unit-only enums
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int)]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum HttpResponse {
Ok = 200,
NotFound = 404,
Teapot = 418,
// ...
}
// PyO3 also supports enums with Struct and Tuple variants
// These complex enums have sligtly different behavior from the simple enums above
// They are meant to work with instance checks and match statement patterns
// The variants can be mixed and matched
// Struct variants have named fields while tuple enums generate generic names for fields in order _0, _1, _2, ...
// Apart from this both types are functionally identical
#[pyclass]
enum Shape {
Circle { radius: f64 },
Rectangle { width: f64, height: f64 },
RegularPolygon(u32, f64),
Nothing(),
}
```
The above example generates implementations for [`PyTypeInfo`] and [`PyClass`] for `MyClass`, `Number`, `MyEnum`, `HttpResponse`, and `Shape`. To see these generated implementations, refer to the [implementation details](#implementation-details) at the end of this chapter.
### Restrictions
To integrate Rust types with Python, PyO3 needs to place some restrictions on the types which can be annotated with `#[pyclass]`. In particular, they must have no lifetime parameters, no generic parameters, and must implement `Send`. The reason for each of these is explained below.
#### No lifetime parameters
Rust lifetimes are used by the Rust compiler to reason about a program's memory safety. They are a compile-time only concept; there is no way to access Rust lifetimes at runtime from a dynamic language like Python.
As soon as Rust data is exposed to Python, there is no guarantee that the Rust compiler can make on how long the data will live. Python is a reference-counted language and those references can be held for an arbitrarily long time which is untraceable by the Rust compiler. The only possible way to express this correctly is to require that any `#[pyclass]` does not borrow data for any lifetime shorter than the `'static` lifetime, i.e. the `#[pyclass]` cannot have any lifetime parameters.
When you need to share ownership of data between Python and Rust, instead of using borrowed references with lifetimes consider using reference-counted smart pointers such as [`Arc`] or [`Py`].
#### No generic parameters
A Rust `struct Foo<T>` with a generic parameter `T` generates new compiled implementations each time it is used with a different concrete type for `T`. These new implementations are generated by the compiler at each usage site. This is incompatible with wrapping `Foo` in Python, where there needs to be a single compiled implementation of `Foo` which is integrated with the Python interpreter.
Currently, the best alternative is to write a macro which expands to a new `#[pyclass]` for each instantiation you want:
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
use pyo3::prelude::*;
struct GenericClass<T> {
data: T,
}
macro_rules! create_interface {
($name: ident, $type: ident) => {
#[pyclass]
pub struct $name {
inner: GenericClass<$type>,
}
#[pymethods]
impl $name {
#[new]
pub fn new(data: $type) -> Self {
Self {
inner: GenericClass { data: data },
}
}
}
};
}
create_interface!(IntClass, i64);
create_interface!(FloatClass, String);
```
#### Must be Send
Because Python objects are freely shared between threads by the Python interpreter, there is no guarantee which thread will eventually drop the object. Therefore all types annotated with `#[pyclass]` must implement `Send` (unless annotated with [`#[pyclass(unsendable)]`](#customizing-the-class)).
## Constructor
By default, it is not possible to create an instance of a custom class from Python code.
To declare a constructor, you need to define a method and annotate it with the `#[new]`
attribute. Only Python's `__new__` method can be specified, `__init__` is not available.
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct Number(i32);
#
#[pymethods]
impl Number {
#[new]
fn new(value: i32) -> Self {
Number(value)
}
}
```
Alternatively, if your `new` method may fail you can return `PyResult<Self>`.
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# use pyo3::exceptions::PyValueError;
# #[pyclass]
# struct Nonzero(i32);
#
#[pymethods]
impl Nonzero {
#[new]
fn py_new(value: i32) -> PyResult<Self> {
if value == 0 {
Err(PyValueError::new_err("cannot be zero"))
} else {
Ok(Nonzero(value))
}
}
}
```
If you want to return an existing object (for example, because your `new`
method caches the values it returns), `new` can return `pyo3::Py<Self>`.
As you can see, the Rust method name is not important here; this way you can
still, use `new()` for a Rust-level constructor.
If no method marked with `#[new]` is declared, object instances can only be
created from Rust, but not from Python.
For arguments, see the [`Method arguments`](#method-arguments) section below.
## Adding the class to a module
The next step is to create the module initializer and add our class to it:
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct Number(i32);
#
#[pymodule]
fn my_module(m: &Bound<'_, PyModule>) -> PyResult<()> {
m.add_class::<Number>()?;
Ok(())
}
```
## Bound<T> and interior mutability
Often is useful to turn a `#[pyclass]` type `T` into a Python object and access it from Rust code. The [`Py<T>`] and [`Bound<'py, T>`] smart pointers are the ways to represent a Python object in PyO3's API. More detail can be found about them [in the Python objects](./types.md#pyo3s-smart-pointers) section of the guide.
Most Python objects do not offer exclusive (`&mut`) access (see the [section on Python's memory model](./python-from-rust.md#pythons-memory-model)). However, Rust structs wrapped as Python objects (called `pyclass` types) often *do* need `&mut` access. Due to the GIL, PyO3 *can* guarantee exclusive access to them.
The Rust borrow checker cannot reason about `&mut` references once an object's ownership has been passed to the Python interpreter. This means that borrow checking is done at runtime using with a scheme very similar to `std::cell::RefCell<T>`. This is known as [interior mutability](https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch15-05-interior-mutability.html).
Users who are familiar with `RefCell<T>` can use `Py<T>` and `Bound<'py, T>` just like `RefCell<T>`.
For users who are not very familiar with `RefCell<T>`, here is a reminder of Rust's rules of borrowing:
- At any given time, you can have either (but not both of) one mutable reference or any number of immutable references.
- References can never outlast the data they refer to.
`Py<T>` and `Bound<'py, T>`, like `RefCell<T>`, ensure these borrowing rules by tracking references at runtime.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {
#[pyo3(get)]
num: i32,
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let obj = Bound::new(py, MyClass { num: 3 }).unwrap();
{
let obj_ref = obj.borrow(); // Get PyRef
assert_eq!(obj_ref.num, 3);
// You cannot get PyRefMut unless all PyRefs are dropped
assert!(obj.try_borrow_mut().is_err());
}
{
let mut obj_mut = obj.borrow_mut(); // Get PyRefMut
obj_mut.num = 5;
// You cannot get any other refs until the PyRefMut is dropped
assert!(obj.try_borrow().is_err());
assert!(obj.try_borrow_mut().is_err());
}
// You can convert `Bound` to a Python object
pyo3::py_run!(py, obj, "assert obj.num == 5");
});
```
A `Bound<'py, T>` is restricted to the GIL lifetime `'py`. To make the object longer lived (for example, to store it in a struct on the
Rust side), use `Py<T>`. `Py<T>` needs a `Python<'_>` token to allow access:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {
num: i32,
}
fn return_myclass() -> Py<MyClass> {
Python::with_gil(|py| Py::new(py, MyClass { num: 1 }).unwrap())
}
let obj = return_myclass();
Python::with_gil(move |py| {
let bound = obj.bind(py); // Py<MyClass>::bind returns &Bound<'py, MyClass>
let obj_ref = bound.borrow(); // Get PyRef<T>
assert_eq!(obj_ref.num, 1);
});
```
### frozen classes: Opting out of interior mutability
As detailed above, runtime borrow checking is currently enabled by default. But a class can opt of out it by declaring itself `frozen`. It can still use interior mutability via standard Rust types like `RefCell` or `Mutex`, but it is not bound to the implementation provided by PyO3 and can choose the most appropriate strategy on field-by-field basis.
Classes which are `frozen` and also `Sync`, e.g. they do use `Mutex` but not `RefCell`, can be accessed without needing the Python GIL via the `Bound::get` and `Py::get` methods:
```rust
use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(frozen)]
struct FrozenCounter {
value: AtomicUsize,
}
value: AtomicUsize::new(0),
};
Py::new(py, counter).unwrap()
});
py_counter.get().value.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
[`PySizedLayout`]({{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/type_object/trait.PySizedLayout.html).
This is not supported when building for the Python limited API (aka the `abi3` feature of PyO3).
To convert between the Rust type and its native base class, you can take
`slf` as a Python object. To access the Rust fields use `slf.borrow()` or
`slf.borrow_mut()`, and to access the base class use `slf.downcast::<BaseClass>()`.
```rust
# #[cfg(not(Py_LIMITED_API))] {
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
use pyo3::types::PyDict;
use std::collections::HashMap;
#[pyclass(extends=PyDict)]
#[derive(Default)]
struct DictWithCounter {
counter: HashMap<String, usize>,
}
#[pymethods]
impl DictWithCounter {
#[new]
fn new() -> Self {
Self::default()
}
fn set(slf: &Bound<'_, Self>, key: String, value: Bound<'_, PyAny>) -> PyResult<()> {
slf.borrow_mut().counter.entry(key.clone()).or_insert(0);
let dict = slf.downcast::<PyDict>()?;
dict.set_item(key, value)
}
}
# Python::with_gil(|py| {
# let cnt = pyo3::Py::new(py, DictWithCounter::new()).unwrap();
# pyo3::py_run!(py, cnt, "cnt.set('abc', 10); assert cnt['abc'] == 10")
# });
# }
```
If `SubClass` does not provide a base class initialization, the compilation fails.
```rust,compile_fail
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct BaseClass {
val1: usize,
}
#[pyclass(extends=BaseClass)]
struct SubClass {
val2: usize,
}
#[pymethods]
impl SubClass {
#[new]
fn new() -> Self {
SubClass { val2: 15 }
}
}
```
The `__new__` constructor of a native base class is called implicitly when
creating a new instance from Python. Be sure to accept arguments in the
`#[new]` method that you want the base class to get, even if they are not used
in that `fn`:
```rust
# #[allow(dead_code)]
# #[cfg(not(Py_LIMITED_API))] {
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
use pyo3::types::PyDict;
#[pyclass(extends=PyDict)]
struct MyDict {
private: i32,
}
#[pymethods]
impl MyDict {
#[new]
#[pyo3(signature = (*args, **kwargs))]
fn new(args: &Bound<'_, PyAny>, kwargs: Option<&Bound<'_, PyAny>>) -> Self {
Self { private: 0 }
}
// some custom methods that use `private` here...
}
# Python::with_gil(|py| {
# let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyDict>();
# pyo3::py_run!(py, cls, "cls(a=1, b=2)")
# });
# }
```
Here, the `args` and `kwargs` allow creating instances of the subclass passing
initial items, such as `MyDict(item_sequence)` or `MyDict(a=1, b=2)`.
## Object properties
PyO3 supports two ways to add properties to your `#[pyclass]`:
- For simple struct fields with no side effects, a `#[pyo3(get, set)]` attribute can be added directly to the field definition in the `#[pyclass]`.
- For properties which require computation you can define `#[getter]` and `#[setter]` functions in the [`#[pymethods]`](#instance-methods) block.
We'll cover each of these in the following sections.
### Object properties using `#[pyo3(get, set)]`
For simple cases where a member variable is just read and written with no side effects, you can declare getters and setters in your `#[pyclass]` field definition using the `pyo3` attribute, like in the example below:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {
#[pyo3(get, set)]
num: i32,
}
```
The above would make the `num` field available for reading and writing as a `self.num` Python property. To expose the property with a different name to the field, specify this alongside the rest of the options, e.g. `#[pyo3(get, set, name = "custom_name")]`.
Properties can be readonly or writeonly by using just `#[pyo3(get)]` or `#[pyo3(set)]` respectively.
To use these annotations, your field type must implement some conversion traits:
- For `get` the field type must implement both `IntoPy<PyObject>` and `Clone`.
- For `set` the field type must implement `FromPyObject`.
For example, implementations of those traits are provided for the `Cell` type, if the inner type also implements the trait. This means you can use `#[pyo3(get, set)]` on fields wrapped in a `Cell`.
### Object properties using `#[getter]` and `#[setter]`
For cases which don't satisfy the `#[pyo3(get, set)]` trait requirements, or need side effects, descriptor methods can be defined in a `#[pymethods]` `impl` block.
This is done using the `#[getter]` and `#[setter]` attributes, like in the example below:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {
num: i32,
}
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[getter]
fn num(&self) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(self.num)
}
}
```
A getter or setter's function name is used as the property name by default. There are several
ways how to override the name.
If a function name starts with `get_` or `set_` for getter or setter respectively,
the descriptor name becomes the function name with this prefix removed. This is also useful in case of
Rust keywords like `type`
([raw identifiers](https://doc.rust-lang.org/edition-guide/rust-2018/module-system/raw-identifiers.html)
can be used since Rust 2018).
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[getter]
fn get_num(&self) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(self.num)
}
#[setter]
fn set_num(&mut self, value: i32) -> PyResult<()> {
self.num = value;
Ok(())
}
}
```
In this case, a property `num` is defined and available from Python code as `self.num`.
Both the `#[getter]` and `#[setter]` attributes accept one parameter.
If this parameter is specified, it is used as the property name, i.e.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[getter(number)]
fn num(&self) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(self.num)
}
#[setter(number)]
fn set_num(&mut self, value: i32) -> PyResult<()> {
self.num = value;
Ok(())
}
}
```
In this case, the property `number` is defined and available from Python code as `self.number`.
Attributes defined by `#[setter]` or `#[pyo3(set)]` will always raise `AttributeError` on `del`
operations. Support for defining custom `del` behavior is tracked in
[#1778](https://github.com/PyO3/pyo3/issues/1778).
## Instance methods
To define a Python compatible method, an `impl` block for your struct has to be annotated with the
`#[pymethods]` attribute. PyO3 generates Python compatible wrappers for all functions in this
block with some variations, like descriptors, class method static methods, etc.
Since Rust allows any number of `impl` blocks, you can easily split methods
between those accessible to Python (and Rust) and those accessible only to Rust. However to have multiple
`#[pymethods]`-annotated `impl` blocks for the same struct you must enable the [`multiple-pymethods`] feature of PyO3.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
fn method1(&self) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(10)
}
fn set_method(&mut self, value: i32) -> PyResult<()> {
self.num = value;
Ok(())
}
}
```
Calls to these methods are protected by the GIL, so both `&self` and `&mut self` can be used.
The return type must be `PyResult<T>` or `T` for some `T` that implements `IntoPy<PyObject>`;
the latter is allowed if the method cannot raise Python exceptions.
A `Python` parameter can be specified as part of method signature, in this case the `py` argument
gets injected by the method wrapper, e.g.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# #[allow(dead_code)]
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
fn method2(&self, py: Python<'_>) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(10)
}
}
```
From the Python perspective, the `method2` in this example does not accept any arguments.
## Class methods
To create a class method for a custom class, the method needs to be annotated
with the `#[classmethod]` attribute.
This is the equivalent of the Python decorator `@classmethod`.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# use pyo3::types::PyType;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# #[allow(dead_code)]
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[classmethod]
fn cls_method(cls: &Bound<'_, PyType>) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(10)
}
}
```
Declares a class method callable from Python.
* The first parameter is the type object of the class on which the method is called.
This may be the type object of a derived class.
* The first parameter implicitly has type `&Bound<'_, PyType>`.
* For details on `parameter-list`, see the documentation of `Method arguments` section.
* The return type must be `PyResult<T>` or `T` for some `T` that implements `IntoPy<PyObject>`.
### Constructors which accept a class argument
To create a constructor which takes a positional class argument, you can combine the `#[classmethod]` and `#[new]` modifiers:
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# use pyo3::types::PyType;
# #[pyclass]
# struct BaseClass(PyObject);
#
#[pymethods]
impl BaseClass {
#[new]
#[classmethod]
fn py_new(cls: &Bound<'_, PyType>) -> PyResult<Self> {
// Get an abstract attribute (presumably) declared on a subclass of this class.
let subclass_attr: Bound<'_, PyAny> = cls.getattr("a_class_attr")?;
Ok(Self(subclass_attr.unbind()))
}
}
```
## Static methods
To create a static method for a custom class, the method needs to be annotated with the
`#[staticmethod]` attribute. The return type must be `T` or `PyResult<T>` for some `T` that implements
`IntoPy<PyObject>`.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# #[allow(dead_code)]
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[staticmethod]
fn static_method(param1: i32, param2: &str) -> PyResult<i32> {
Ok(10)
}
}
```
## Class attributes
To create a class attribute (also called [class variable][classattr]), a method without
any arguments can be annotated with the `#[classattr]` attribute.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {}
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[classattr]
fn my_attribute() -> String {
"hello".to_string()
}
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let my_class = py.get_type_bound::<MyClass>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, my_class, "assert my_class.my_attribute == 'hello'")
});
```
> Note: if the method has a `Result` return type and returns an `Err`, PyO3 will panic during
class creation.
If the class attribute is defined with `const` code only, one can also annotate associated
constants:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {}
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[classattr]
const MY_CONST_ATTRIBUTE: &'static str = "foobar";
}
```
## Classes as function arguments
Free functions defined using `#[pyfunction]` interact with classes through the same mechanisms as the self parameters of instance methods, i.e. they can take GIL-bound references, GIL-bound reference wrappers or GIL-indepedent references:
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {
my_field: i32,
}
// Take a reference when the underlying `Bound` is irrelevant.
#[pyfunction]
fn increment_field(my_class: &mut MyClass) {
my_class.my_field += 1;
}
// Take a reference wrapper when borrowing should be automatic,
// but interaction with the underlying `Bound` is desired.
#[pyfunction]
fn print_field(my_class: PyRef<'_, MyClass>) {
println!("{}", my_class.my_field);
}
// Take a reference to the underlying Bound
// when borrowing needs to be managed manually.
#[pyfunction]
fn increment_then_print_field(my_class: &Bound<'_, MyClass>) {
my_class.borrow_mut().my_field += 1;
println!("{}", my_class.borrow().my_field);
}
// Take a GIL-indepedent reference when you want to store the reference elsewhere.
#[pyfunction]
fn print_refcnt(my_class: Py<MyClass>, py: Python<'_>) {
println!("{}", my_class.get_refcnt(py));
}
```
Classes can also be passed by value if they can be cloned, i.e. they automatically implement `FromPyObject` if they implement `Clone`, e.g. via `#[derive(Clone)]`:
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
#[derive(Clone)]
struct MyClass {
my_field: Box<i32>,
}
#[pyfunction]
fn dissamble_clone(my_class: MyClass) {
let MyClass { mut my_field } = my_class;
*my_field += 1;
}
```
Note that `#[derive(FromPyObject)]` on a class is usually not useful as it tries to construct a new Rust value by filling in the fields by looking up attributes of any given Python value.
## Method arguments
Similar to `#[pyfunction]`, the `#[pyo3(signature = (...))]` attribute can be used to specify the way that `#[pymethods]` accept arguments. Consult the documentation for [`function signatures`](./function/signature.md) to see the parameters this attribute accepts.
The following example defines a class `MyClass` with a method `method`. This method has a signature that sets default values for `num` and `name`, and indicates that `py_args` should collect all extra positional arguments and `py_kwargs` all extra keyword arguments:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
use pyo3::types::{PyDict, PyTuple};
#
# #[pyclass]
# struct MyClass {
# num: i32,
# }
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[new]
#[pyo3(signature = (num=-1))]
fn new(num: i32) -> Self {
MyClass { num }
}
#[pyo3(signature = (num=10, *py_args, name="Hello", **py_kwargs))]
fn method(
&mut self,
num: i32,
py_args: &Bound<'_, PyTuple>,
name: &str,
py_kwargs: Option<&Bound<'_, PyDict>>,
) -> String {
let num_before = self.num;
self.num = num;
format!(
"num={} (was previously={}), py_args={:?}, name={}, py_kwargs={:?} ",
num, num_before, py_args, name, py_kwargs,
)
}
}
```
In Python, this might be used like:
```python
>>> import mymodule
>>> mc = mymodule.MyClass()
>>> print(mc.method(44, False, "World", 666, x=44, y=55))
py_args=('World', 666), py_kwargs=Some({'x': 44, 'y': 55}), name=Hello, num=44, num_before=-1
>>> print(mc.method(num=-1, name="World"))
py_args=(), py_kwargs=None, name=World, num=-1, num_before=44
```
The [`#[pyo3(text_signature = "...")`](./function/signature.md#overriding-the-generated-signature) option for `#[pyfunction]` also works for `#[pymethods]`.
```rust
# #![allow(dead_code)]
use pyo3::prelude::*;
use pyo3::types::PyType;
#[pyclass]
struct MyClass {}
#[pymethods]
impl MyClass {
#[new]
#[pyo3(text_signature = "(c, d)")]
fn new(c: i32, d: &str) -> Self {
Self {}
}
// the self argument should be written $self
#[pyo3(text_signature = "($self, e, f)")]
fn my_method(&self, e: i32, f: i32) -> i32 {
e + f
}
// similarly for classmethod arguments, use $cls
#[classmethod]
#[pyo3(text_signature = "($cls, e, f)")]
fn my_class_method(cls: &Bound<'_, PyType>, e: i32, f: i32) -> i32 {
e + f
}
#[staticmethod]
#[pyo3(text_signature = "(e, f)")]
fn my_static_method(e: i32, f: i32) -> i32 {
e + f
}
}
#
# fn main() -> PyResult<()> {
# Python::with_gil(|py| {
# let inspect = PyModule::import_bound(py, "inspect")?.getattr("signature")?;
# let module = PyModule::new_bound(py, "my_module")?;
# module.add_class::<MyClass>()?;
# let class = module.getattr("MyClass")?;
#
# if cfg!(not(Py_LIMITED_API)) || py.version_info() >= (3, 10) {
# let doc: String = class.getattr("__doc__")?.extract()?;
# assert_eq!(doc, "");
#
# let sig: String = inspect
# .call1((&class,))?
# .call_method0("__str__")?
# .extract()?;
# assert_eq!(sig, "(c, d)");
# } else {
# let doc: String = class.getattr("__doc__")?.extract()?;
# assert_eq!(doc, "");
#
# inspect.call1((&class,)).expect_err("`text_signature` on classes is not compatible with compilation in `abi3` mode until Python 3.10 or greater");
# }
#
# {
# let method = class.getattr("my_method")?;
#
# assert!(method.getattr("__doc__")?.is_none());
#
# let sig: String = inspect
# .call1((method,))?
# .call_method0("__str__")?
# .extract()?;
# assert_eq!(sig, "(self, /, e, f)");
# }
#
# {
# let method = class.getattr("my_class_method")?;
#
# assert!(method.getattr("__doc__")?.is_none());
#
# let sig: String = inspect
# .call1((method,))?
# .call_method0("__str__")?
# .extract()?;
# assert_eq!(sig, "(e, f)"); // inspect.signature skips the $cls arg
# }
#
# {
# let method = class.getattr("my_static_method")?;
#
# assert!(method.getattr("__doc__")?.is_none());
#
# let sig: String = inspect
# .call1((method,))?
# .call_method0("__str__")?
# .extract()?;
# assert_eq!(sig, "(e, f)");
# }
#
# Ok(())
# })
# }
```
Note that `text_signature` on `#[new]` is not compatible with compilation in
`abi3` mode until Python 3.10 or greater.
### Method receivers and lifetime elision
PyO3 supports writing instance methods using the normal method receivers for shared `&self` and unique `&mut self` references. This interacts with [lifetime elision][lifetime-elision] insofar as the lifetime of a such a receiver is assigned to all elided output lifetime parameters.
This is a good default for general Rust code where return values are more likely to borrow from the receiver than from the other arguments, if they contain any lifetimes at all. However, when returning bound references `Bound<'py, T>` in PyO3-based code, the GIL lifetime `'py` should usually be derived from a GIL token `py: Python<'py>` passed as an argument instead of the receiver.
Specifically, signatures like
```rust,ignore
fn frobnicate(&self, py: Python) -> Bound<Foo>;
```
will not work as they are inferred as
```rust,ignore
fn frobnicate<'a, 'py>(&'a self, py: Python<'py>) -> Bound<'a, Foo>;
```
instead of the intended
```rust,ignore
fn frobnicate<'a, 'py>(&'a self, py: Python<'py>) -> Bound<'py, Foo>;
```
and should usually be written as
```rust,ignore
fn frobnicate<'py>(&self, py: Python<'py>) -> Bound<'py, Foo>;
```
The same problem does not exist for `#[pyfunction]`s as the special case for receiver lifetimes does not apply and indeed a signature like
```rust,ignore
fn frobnicate(bar: &Bar, py: Python) -> Bound<Foo>;
```
will yield compiler error [E0106 "missing lifetime specifier"][compiler-error-e0106].
## `#[pyclass]` enums
Enum support in PyO3 comes in two flavors, depending on what kind of variants the enum has: simple and complex.
### Simple enums
A simple enum (a.k.a. C-like enum) has only unit variants.
PyO3 adds a class attribute for each variant, so you can access them in Python without defining `#[new]`. PyO3 also provides default implementations of `__richcmp__` and `__int__`, so they can be compared using `==`:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int)]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum MyEnum {
Variant,
OtherVariant,
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let x = Py::new(py, MyEnum::Variant).unwrap();
let y = Py::new(py, MyEnum::OtherVariant).unwrap();
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, x y cls, r#"
assert x == cls.Variant
assert y == cls.OtherVariant
assert x != y
"#)
})
```
You can also convert your simple enums into `int`:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int)]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum MyEnum {
Variant,
OtherVariant = 10,
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
let x = MyEnum::Variant as i32; // The exact value is assigned by the compiler.
pyo3::py_run!(py, cls x, r#"
assert int(cls.Variant) == x
assert int(cls.OtherVariant) == 10
"#)
})
```
PyO3 also provides `__repr__` for enums:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int)]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum MyEnum{
Variant,
OtherVariant,
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
let x = Py::new(py, MyEnum::Variant).unwrap();
pyo3::py_run!(py, cls x, r#"
assert repr(x) == 'MyEnum.Variant'
assert repr(cls.OtherVariant) == 'MyEnum.OtherVariant'
"#)
})
```
All methods defined by PyO3 can be overridden. For example here's how you override `__repr__`:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int)]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum MyEnum {
Answer = 42,
}
#[pymethods]
impl MyEnum {
fn __repr__(&self) -> &'static str {
"42"
}
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, cls, "assert repr(cls.Answer) == '42'")
})
```
Enums and their variants can also be renamed using `#[pyo3(name)]`.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(eq, eq_int, name = "RenamedEnum")]
#[derive(PartialEq)]
enum MyEnum {
#[pyo3(name = "UPPERCASE")]
Variant,
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let x = Py::new(py, MyEnum::Variant).unwrap();
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, x cls, r#"
assert repr(x) == 'RenamedEnum.UPPERCASE'
assert x == cls.UPPERCASE
"#)
})
```
Ordering of enum variants is optionally added using `#[pyo3(ord)]`.
*Note: Implementation of the `PartialOrd` trait is required when passing the `ord` argument. If not implemented, a compile time error is raised.*
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(eq, ord)]
#[derive(PartialEq, PartialOrd)]
enum MyEnum{
A,
B,
C,
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
let a = Py::new(py, MyEnum::A).unwrap();
let b = Py::new(py, MyEnum::B).unwrap();
let c = Py::new(py, MyEnum::C).unwrap();
pyo3::py_run!(py, cls a b c, r#"
assert (a < b) == True
assert (c <= b) == False
assert (c > a) == True
"#)
})
```
You may not use enums as a base class or let enums inherit from other classes.
```rust,compile_fail
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(subclass)]
enum BadBase {
Var1,
}
```
```rust,compile_fail
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass(subclass)]
struct Base;
#[pyclass(extends=Base)]
enum BadSubclass {
Var1,
}
```
`#[pyclass]` enums are currently not interoperable with `IntEnum` in Python.
### Complex enums
An enum is complex if it has any non-unit (struct or tuple) variants.
PyO3 supports only struct and tuple variants in a complex enum. Unit variants aren't supported at present (the recommendation is to use an empty tuple enum instead).
PyO3 adds a class attribute for each variant, which may be used to construct values and in match patterns. PyO3 also provides getter methods for all fields of each variant.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
enum Shape {
Circle { radius: f64 },
Rectangle { width: f64, height: f64 },
RegularPolygon(u32, f64),
Nothing { },
}
# #[cfg(Py_3_10)]
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let circle = Shape::Circle { radius: 10.0 }.into_py(py);
let square = Shape::RegularPolygon(4, 10.0).into_py(py);
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<Shape>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, circle square cls, r#"
assert isinstance(circle, cls)
assert isinstance(circle, cls.Circle)
assert circle.radius == 10.0
assert isinstance(square, cls)
assert isinstance(square, cls.RegularPolygon)
assert square[0] == 4 # Gets _0 field
assert square[1] == 10.0 # Gets _1 field
def count_vertices(cls, shape):
match shape:
case cls.Circle():
return 0
case cls.Rectangle():
return 4
case cls.RegularPolygon(n):
return n
case cls.Nothing():
return 0
assert count_vertices(cls, circle) == 0
assert count_vertices(cls, square) == 4
"#)
})
```
WARNING: `Py::new` and `.into_py` are currently inconsistent. Note how the constructed value is _not_ an instance of the specific variant. For this reason, constructing values is only recommended using `.into_py`.
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
enum MyEnum {
Variant { i: i32 },
}
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let x = Py::new(py, MyEnum::Variant { i: 42 }).unwrap();
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyEnum>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, x cls, r#"
assert isinstance(x, cls)
assert not isinstance(x, cls.Variant)
"#)
})
```
The constructor of each generated class can be customized using the `#[pyo3(constructor = (...))]` attribute. This uses the same syntax as the [`#[pyo3(signature = (...))]`](function/signature.md)
attribute on function and methods and supports the same options. To apply this attribute simply place it on top of a variant in a `#[pyclass]` complex enum as shown below:
```rust
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
#[pyclass]
enum Shape {
#[pyo3(constructor = (radius=1.0))]
Circle { radius: f64 },
#[pyo3(constructor = (*, width, height))]
Rectangle { width: f64, height: f64 },
#[pyo3(constructor = (side_count, radius=1.0))]
RegularPolygon { side_count: u32, radius: f64 },
Nothing { },
}
# #[cfg(Py_3_10)]
Python::with_gil(|py| {
let cls = py.get_type_bound::<Shape>();
pyo3::py_run!(py, cls, r#"
circle = cls.Circle()
assert isinstance(circle, cls)
assert isinstance(circle, cls.Circle)
assert circle.radius == 1.0
square = cls.Rectangle(width = 1, height = 1)
assert isinstance(square, cls)
assert isinstance(square, cls.Rectangle)
assert square.width == 1
assert square.height == 1
hexagon = cls.RegularPolygon(6)
assert isinstance(hexagon, cls)
assert isinstance(hexagon, cls.RegularPolygon)
assert hexagon.side_count == 6
assert hexagon.radius == 1
"#)
})
```
## Implementation details
The `#[pyclass]` macros rely on a lot of conditional code generation: each `#[pyclass]` can optionally have a `#[pymethods]` block.
To support this flexibility the `#[pyclass]` macro expands to a blob of boilerplate code which sets up the structure for ["dtolnay specialization"](https://github.com/dtolnay/case-studies/blob/master/autoref-specialization/README.md). This implementation pattern enables the Rust compiler to use `#[pymethods]` implementations when they are present, and fall back to default (empty) definitions when they are not.
This simple technique works for the case when there is zero or one implementations. To support multiple `#[pymethods]` for a `#[pyclass]` (in the [`multiple-pymethods`] feature), a registry mechanism provided by the [`inventory`](https://github.com/dtolnay/inventory) crate is used instead. This collects `impl`s at library load time, but isn't supported on all platforms. See [inventory: how it works](https://github.com/dtolnay/inventory#how-it-works) for more details.
The `#[pyclass]` macro expands to roughly the code seen below. The `PyClassImplCollector` is the type used internally by PyO3 for dtolnay specialization:
```rust
# #[cfg(not(feature = "multiple-pymethods"))] {
# use pyo3::prelude::*;
// Note: the implementation differs slightly with the `multiple-pymethods` feature enabled.
struct MyClass {
# #[allow(dead_code)]
num: i32,
}
impl pyo3::types::DerefToPyAny for MyClass {}
# #[allow(deprecated)]
# #[cfg(feature = "gil-refs")]
unsafe impl pyo3::type_object::HasPyGilRef for MyClass {
type AsRefTarget = pyo3::PyCell<Self>;
}
unsafe impl pyo3::type_object::PyTypeInfo for MyClass {
const NAME: &'static str = "MyClass";
const MODULE: ::std::option::Option<&'static str> = ::std::option::Option::None;
#[inline]
fn type_object_raw(py: pyo3::Python<'_>) -> *mut pyo3::ffi::PyTypeObject {
<Self as pyo3::impl_::pyclass::PyClassImpl>::lazy_type_object()
.get_or_init(py)
.as_type_ptr()
}
}
impl pyo3::PyClass for MyClass {
type Frozen = pyo3::pyclass::boolean_struct::False;
}
impl<'a, 'py> pyo3::impl_::extract_argument::PyFunctionArgument<'a, 'py> for &'a MyClass
{
type Holder = ::std::option::Option<pyo3::PyRef<'py, MyClass>>;
#[inline]
fn extract(obj: &'a pyo3::Bound<'py, PyAny>, holder: &'a mut Self::Holder) -> pyo3::PyResult<Self> {
pyo3::impl_::extract_argument::extract_pyclass_ref(obj, holder)
}
}
impl<'a, 'py> pyo3::impl_::extract_argument::PyFunctionArgument<'a, 'py> for &'a mut MyClass
{
type Holder = ::std::option::Option<pyo3::PyRefMut<'py, MyClass>>;
#[inline]
fn extract(obj: &'a pyo3::Bound<'py, PyAny>, holder: &'a mut Self::Holder) -> pyo3::PyResult<Self> {
pyo3::impl_::extract_argument::extract_pyclass_ref_mut(obj, holder)
}
}
impl pyo3::IntoPy<PyObject> for MyClass {
fn into_py(self, py: pyo3::Python<'_>) -> pyo3::PyObject {
pyo3::IntoPy::into_py(pyo3::Py::new(py, self).unwrap(), py)
}
}
impl pyo3::impl_::pyclass::PyClassImpl for MyClass {
const IS_BASETYPE: bool = false;
const IS_SUBCLASS: bool = false;
const IS_MAPPING: bool = false;
const IS_SEQUENCE: bool = false;
type BaseType = PyAny;
type ThreadChecker = pyo3::impl_::pyclass::SendablePyClass<MyClass>;
type PyClassMutability = <<pyo3::PyAny as pyo3::impl_::pyclass::PyClassBaseType>::PyClassMutability as pyo3::impl_::pycell::PyClassMutability>::MutableChild;
type Dict = pyo3::impl_::pyclass::PyClassDummySlot;
type WeakRef = pyo3::impl_::pyclass::PyClassDummySlot;
type BaseNativeType = pyo3::PyAny;
fn items_iter() -> pyo3::impl_::pyclass::PyClassItemsIter {
use pyo3::impl_::pyclass::*;
let collector = PyClassImplCollector::<MyClass>::new();
static INTRINSIC_ITEMS: PyClassItems = PyClassItems { slots: &[], methods: &[] };
PyClassItemsIter::new(&INTRINSIC_ITEMS, collector.py_methods())
}
fn lazy_type_object() -> &'static pyo3::impl_::pyclass::LazyTypeObject<MyClass> {
use pyo3::impl_::pyclass::LazyTypeObject;
static TYPE_OBJECT: LazyTypeObject<MyClass> = LazyTypeObject::new();
&TYPE_OBJECT
}
fn doc(py: Python<'_>) -> pyo3::PyResult<&'static ::std::ffi::CStr> {
use pyo3::impl_::pyclass::*;
static DOC: pyo3::sync::GILOnceCell<::std::borrow::Cow<'static, ::std::ffi::CStr>> = pyo3::sync::GILOnceCell::new();
DOC.get_or_try_init(py, || {
let collector = PyClassImplCollector::<Self>::new();
build_pyclass_doc(<MyClass as pyo3::PyTypeInfo>::NAME, pyo3::ffi::c_str!(""), collector.new_text_signature())
}).map(::std::ops::Deref::deref)
}
}
# Python::with_gil(|py| {
# let cls = py.get_type_bound::<MyClass>();
# pyo3::py_run!(py, cls, "assert cls.__name__ == 'MyClass'")
# });
# }
```
[`PyTypeInfo`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/type_object/trait.PyTypeInfo.html
[`Py`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/struct.Py.html
[`Bound<'_, T>`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/struct.Bound.html
[`PyClass`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/pyclass/trait.PyClass.html
[`PyRef`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/pycell/struct.PyRef.html
[`PyRefMut`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/pycell/struct.PyRefMut.html
[`PyClassInitializer<T>`]: {{#PYO3_DOCS_URL}}/pyo3/pyclass_init/struct.PyClassInitializer.html
[`Arc`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/sync/struct.Arc.html
[`RefCell`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/cell/struct.RefCell.html
[classattr]: https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/classes.html#class-and-instance-variables
[`multiple-pymethods`]: features.md#multiple-pymethods
[lifetime-elision]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/reference/lifetime-elision.html
[compiler-error-e0106]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/error_codes/E0106.html