Python - Static Methods

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What is Python Static Method?

In Python, a static method is a type of method that does not require any instance to be called. It is very similar to the class method but the difference is that the static method doesn't have a mandatory argument like reference to the object − self or reference to the class − cls.

Static methods are used to access static fields of a given class. They cannot modify the state of a class since they are bound to the class, not instance.

How to Create Static Method in Python?

There are two ways to create Python static methods −

  • Using staticmethod() Function
  • Using @staticmethod Decorator

Using staticmethod() Function

Python's standard library function named staticmethod() is used to create a static method. It accepts a method as an argument and converts it into a static method.

Syntax

staticmethod(method)

Example

In the Employee class below, the showcount() method is converted into a static method. This static method can now be called by its object or reference of class itself.

class Employee:
   empCount = 0
   def __init__(self, name, age):
      self.__name = name
      self.__age = age
      Employee.empCount += 1
   
   # creating staticmethod
   def showcount():
      print (Employee.empCount)
      return
   counter = staticmethod(showcount)

e1 = Employee("Bhavana", 24)
e2 = Employee("Rajesh", 26)
e3 = Employee("John", 27)

e1.counter()
Employee.counter()

Executing the above code will print the following result −

3
3

Using @staticmethod Decorator

The second way to create a static method is by using the Python @staticmethod decorator. When we use this decorator with a method it indicates to the Interpreter that the specified method is static.

Syntax

@staticmethod
def method_name():
   # your code

Example

In the following example, we are creating a static method using the @staticmethod decorator.

class Student:
   stdCount = 0
   def __init__(self, name, age):
      self.__name = name
      self.__age = age
      Student.stdCount += 1
   
   # creating staticmethod
   @staticmethod
   def showcount():
      print (Student.stdCount)

e1 = Student("Bhavana", 24)
e2 = Student("Rajesh", 26)
e3 = Student("John", 27)

print("Number of Students:")
Student.showcount()

Running the above code will print the following result −

Number of Students:
3

Advantages of Static Method

There are several advantages of using static method, which includes −

  • Since a static method cannot access class attributes, it can be used as a utility function to perform frequently re-used tasks.
  • We can invoke this method using the class name. Hence, it eliminates the dependency on the instances.
  • A static method is always predictable as its behavior remain unchanged regardless of the class state.
  • We can declare a method as a static method to prevent overriding.
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