Purpose of Python's __repr__

Question

def __repr__(self):
  return '<%s %s (%s:%s) %s>' % (
    self.__class__.__name__, self.urlconf_name, self.app_name,
    self.namespace, self.regex.pattern)

What is the significance/purpose of this method?

Answer 1

When we create new types by defining classes, we can take advantage of certain features of Python to make the new classes convenient to use. One of these features is "special methods", also referred to as "magic methods".

Special methods have names that begin and end with two underscores. We define them, but do not usually call them directly by name. Instead, they execute automatically under under specific circumstances.

It is convenient to be able to output the value of an instance of an object by using a print statement. When we do this, we would like the value to be represented in the output in some understandable unambiguous format. The repr special method can be used to arrange for this to happen. If we define this method, it can get called automatically when we print the value of an instance of a class for which we defined this method. It should be mentioned, though, that there is also a str special method, used for a similar, but not identical purpose, that may get precedence, if we have also defined it.

If we have not defined, the repr method for the Point3D class, and have instantiated my_point as an instance of Point3D, and then we do this ...

print my_point ... we may see this as the output ...

Not very nice, eh?

So, we define the repr or str special method, or both, to get better output.

**class Point3D(object):
    def __init__(self,a,b,c):
        self.x = a
        self.y = b
        self.z = c
    def __repr__(self):
        return "Point3D(%d, %d, %d)" % (self.x, self.y, self.z)
    def __str__(self):
        return "(%d, %d, %d)" % (self.x, self.y, self.z)
my_point = Point3D(1, 2, 3)
print my_point # __repr__ gets called automatically
print my_point # __str__ gets called automatically**

Output ...

(1, 2, 3) (1, 2, 3)

Answer 2

Implement repr for every class you implement. There should be no excuse. Implement str for classes which you think readability is more important of non-ambiguity.

Refer this link: https://www.pythoncentral.io/what-is-the-difference-between-str-and-repr-in-python/

Answer 3

__repr__ should return a printable representation of the object, most likely one of the ways possible to create this object. See official documentation here. __repr__ is more for developers while __str__ is for end users.

A simple example:

>>> class Point:
...   def __init__(self, x, y):
...     self.x, self.y = x, y
...   def __repr__(self):
...     return 'Point(x=%s, y=%s)' % (self.x, self.y)
>>> p = Point(1, 2)
>>> p
Point(x=1, y=2)

Answer 4

This is explained quite well in the Python documentation:

repr(object): Return a string containing a printable representation of an object. This is the same value yielded by conversions (reverse quotes). It is sometimes useful to be able to access this operation as an ordinary function. For many types, this function makes an attempt to return a string that would yield an object with the same value when passed to eval(), otherwise the representation is a string enclosed in angle brackets that contains the name of the type of the object together with additional information often including the name and address of the object. A class can control what this function returns for its instances by defining a __repr__() method.

So what you're seeing here is the default implementation of __repr__, which is useful for serialization and debugging.

Answer 5

__repr__ is used by the standalone Python interpreter to display a class in printable format. Example:

~> python3.5
Python 3.5.1 (v3.5.1:37a07cee5969, Dec  5 2015, 21:12:44) 
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> class StackOverflowDemo:
...     def __init__(self):
...         pass
...     def __repr__(self):
...         return '<StackOverflow demo object __repr__>'
... 
>>> demo = StackOverflowDemo()
>>> demo
<StackOverflow demo object>

In cases where a __str__ method is not defined in the class, it will call the __repr__ function in an attempt to create a printable representation.

>>> str(demo)
'<StackOverflow demo object __repr__>'

Additionally, print()ing the class will call __str__ by default.

---

Documentation, if you please

Answer 6

The __repr__ method simply tells Python how to print objects of a class