Getattr() Function in Python

Python Getattr Function

The getattr function is a default function present in Python that can be incorporated into the code without importing any additional libraries. The syntax for the Python getattr function looks like this,

getattr(Object Name, "Attribute Name", "Default Message")

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Note: Notice that the attribute name is provided in double-quotes.

Let us look at an example of the Python getattr function. 

class Ninja:
	company = "Coding Ninjas"
	domain = "Education Tech"
	headquarters = "New Delhi, India"

print('The company is : ', getattr(Ninja, "company"))
print('The domain is : ', getattr(Ninja, "domain"))

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Output

In the above code, we used the Python getattr function. We fetched the value of attributes company and domain. 

Now that we know about the Python getattr function let us assume a scenario. Let us assume we have an object named “Ninja”, but we are not sure if it contains the attribute named “revenue”. In case “Ninja” does not contain “revenue”, the code might give an error. For example,

class Ninja:
	company = "Coding Ninjas"
	domain = "Education Tech"
	headquarters = "New Delhi, India"

print('The revenue is : ', getattr(Ninja, "revenue"))

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Output

In the above example, since “revenue” was not present as an attribute, the compiler returned an error.
To tackle this situation, we can use another parameter of the Python getattr function, which is the “default” parameter. Let us look at an example,

class Ninja:
	company = "Coding Ninjas"
	domain = "Education Tech"
	headquarters = "New Delhi, India"

print('The company is : ', getattr(Ninja, "company"))
print('The revenue is : ', getattr(Ninja, "revenue", "Attribute Not Present"))

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Output

As you can notice, we do not get any error thrown from the compiler side. The default value is returned in case the attribute is not present in the object. 

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You can also know about Python Square Root here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Python?

Python is a general-purpose programming language. It is a high-level programming language. Python emphasises on code readability with the usage of indentation. 

Is Python beginner-friendly?

Yes, Python is a beginner-friendly language. It is one of the most popular programming languages. Python is easy to understand as compared to other languages. 

What is the Python getattr function?

The python getattr function is used to fetch the value for the specified attribute present in an object. 

What are the parameters present in the Python getattr function?

The Python getattr function has three parameters, namely, object, attribute, and default parameter. 

What is the role of the default parameter in the Python getattr function?

The default parameter is used to return a custom message when an attribute is not present in the object. 

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the Python getattr function. We also discussed the parameters associated with the Python getattr function. We further looked at various scenarios while working with the Python getattr function. 

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