Welcome! In this lesson, we'll explore Python Generics. Generics let you write code that can handle different data types without duplicating code, making programs more flexible and reusable.
Think of generics like a Swiss Army knife. Instead of carrying a knife and a screwdriver separately, you have one tool that switches functions effortlessly. Sounds useful, right?
By the end of this lesson, you'll know how to define and use generics in Python. Let's get started!
Before diving into generics, let's revisit type annotations. Type annotations specify the kind of data a variable should hold, making our code more understandable and error-free.
Generics come in when we want a function or class to work with any data type. For example, a list
can hold integers, strings, or objects. Wouldn't it be nice to write code that works with any type, just like a list? Generics help us achieve this.
Python's typing
module provides tools for generics, like TypeVar
, which lets us define a variable type. Let's explore how to use it in code.
We define a generic class using TypeVar
from the typing
module. This acts as a placeholder for any data type. It's like labeling a blank space, which we'll fill with an actual data type later.
Here's the Stack
class example:
