Python’s Rib Cage
You’re likely sure, based on imaginary GPT-like computations, that I’m talking about a species of snake, and its rib cage — and I am, metaphorically.
What I’m actually talking about gets introduced in Grokking Python: I’m talking about the syntax of the famous computer language named after Monty Python by its Dutch inventor.
Check out the following Dog class, endowed with two of Python’s “magic methods” also known as: “dunder methods” (with “dunder” being short for “double underline”) or “special methods”.
The two __ribs__ in this case are: __init__ (the birth method) and __repr__, the representer method.
What about the eat method?
Certainly we call it a method, an “instance method” to be clear (one involving the self), but it’s not one of those built-in dunder (“magic” or “special”) methods, where each plays a special role.
For example, Python’s built-in types, especially numeric types, make use of the __add__ method, and its role is to be triggered by use of the plus symbol ( + ). We could endow the Dog class with an __add__ method such that dog1 + dog2 would actually return something, perhaps a new Dog instance.
