TechExperiment

This is a short introductory guide to creating static methods. Static methods, though not used entirely that often, can be a very useful tool. I personally get the most use out of them when organizing my code.

Python’s static methods have a similar implementation as Java & C++. Static methods were not introduced into Python until version 2.2

Example of version 2.2 and higher implementation:

>>> class Foo:
...     def bar(arg):
...         Foo.arg = arg
...     bar = staticmethod(bar)
...
>>> Foo.bar('Hello World')
>>> Foo.arg
'Hello World'
>>> Foo().bar('Hello')
>>> Foo.arg
'Hello'

Static methods can be called either on the class (such as Foo.bar()) or on an instance (such as Foo().bar()). The instance is ignored except for its class.

In version 2.4, function decorator syntax was added, which allows another way to define a static method. If you are using 2.4 or above, this is the recommended way of creating a static method.

Example of version 2.4 and higher implementation:

>>> class Foo:
...     @staticmethod
...     def bar(arg):
...         Foo.arg = arg
...
>>> Foo.bar('Hello World')
>>> Foo.arg
'Hello World'
>>> Foo().bar('Hello')
>>> Foo.arg
'Hello'

If you are looking to do more advanced static methods, look into using classmethod instead of staticmethod. One of the differences between the two is that class method receives the class as implicit first argument, just like an instance method receives the instance. For further reading on class method, refer to the built in functions page. If anyone is interested in seeing example of class method in use, let me know.