Methods

A method is a function that belongs to a class. Methods define what an object can do.

Defining a Method

Methods are defined inside a class, just like regular functions — but they always take self as the first parameter.


class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name, age):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
 
    def bark(self):
        print("Woof!")
 
    def introduce(self):
        print("Hi, I'm " + self.name)

self gives the method access to the object’s attributes. Without it, introduce wouldn’t know which dog’s name to print.

Calling a Method

Use dot notation to call a method on an object:


dog1 = Dog("Buddy", 3)
dog1.bark()       # Woof!
dog1.introduce()  # Hi, I'm Buddy

You don’t pass self when calling — Python handles that automatically.

Methods with Parameters

Methods can take extra parameters beyond self:


class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name, age):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
 
    def eat(self, food):
        print(self.name + " is eating " + food)


dog1 = Dog("Buddy", 3)
dog1.eat("kibble")  # Buddy is eating kibble

This is exactly how Pillow works — draw.circle(...) is calling the circle method on the draw object, passing in the center, radius, and color as arguments.

Methods Can Use Other Methods

A method can call other methods on the same object using self:


class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
 
    def bark(self):
        print("Woof!")
 
    def greet(self):
        print("Hi, I'm " + self.name)
        self.bark()


dog1 = Dog("Buddy")
dog1.greet()
# Hi, I'm Buddy
# Woof!

Try it out

main.py

Output