super() Built-in Function

Python - super()

Python super() builtin function is used to call a method in a parent class without explicitly naming the parent class. It is commonly used in object-oriented programming when defining a subclass that inherits from a superclass.

In this tutorial, you will learn the syntax of super() function, and then its usage with the help of example programs.

Syntax

The syntax of super() function is

class super(type, object_or_type=None)

where

Parameter	Description
type	[Optional] An iterable like list, tuple, etc.
object_or_type	[Optional] This determines the method resolution order to be searched.

Examples

1. Call method in super class

In the following program, we defined two classes: Animal and Dog.

Dog is a subclass of Animal and inherits its __init__() and speak() methods. However, the Dog class has its own __init__() method that takes an additional argument breed.

Python Program

class Animal:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
        
    def speak(self):
        print(f"{self.name} makes a noise.")
        
class Dog(Animal):
    def __init__(self, name, breed):
        super().__init__(name)
        self.breed = breed
        
    def speak(self):
        super().speak()
        print(f"{self.name} barks.")

How are we using super() method here?

In the __init__() method of the Dog class, we call the __init__() method of the Animal class using super().__init__(name). This initializes the name attribute of the Animal class with the name argument passed to the Dog constructor.

In the speak() method of the Dog class, we call the speak() method of the Animal class using super().speak(). This prints the message "Dog makes a noise." because self.name is set to the value of name passed to the Dog constructor. Then, we print the message "Dog barks." to indicate that the Dog class has its own behavior.

In the following program, we have created an instance mydog of Dog class, and called speak() method on mydog.

Python Program

class Animal:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
        
    def speak(self):
        print(f"{self.name} makes a noise.")
        
class Dog(Animal):
    def __init__(self, name, breed):
        super().__init__(name)
        self.breed = breed
        
    def speak(self):
        super().speak()
        print(f"{self.name} barks.")

mydog = Dog('Jumpy', 'Bulldog')
mydog.speak()

Output

Jumpy makes a noise.
Jumpy barks.

Summary

In this Python Built-in Functions tutorial, we learned the syntax of super() built-in function, and how super() allows you to call a method in a parent class without hard-coding the name of the parent class. This can make your code more flexible and easier to maintain, especially when dealing with complex class hierarchies.