🎁 New User? Get 20% off your first purchase with code NEWUSER20 Register Now →
Menu

Categories

Python Advanced

What is Python Descriptors?

Objects that define __get__, __set__, or __delete__ methods, controlling how attribute access works on other objects.

Descriptors are the mechanism behind properties, class methods, static methods, and slots in Python. When an object defines __get__(), __set__(), or __delete__(), it becomes a descriptor. Data descriptors (with __set__ or __delete__) take precedence over instance dictionaries, while non-data descriptors (only __get__) defer to instance attributes. This protocol powers Django ORM fields, SQLAlchemy columns, and validation frameworks. Understanding descriptors reveals how Python's attribute access truly works — when you access obj.attr, Python calls type(obj).__dict__['attr'].__get__(obj, type(obj)) if attr is a descriptor.

Related Terms

Celery
A distributed task queue for Python that enables asynchronous processing of background jobs and scheduled tasks.
Python Package
A directory containing Python modules and an __init__.py file, providing a way to organize and distribute reusable code.
Dataclass
A decorator that automatically generates __init__, __repr__, __eq__, and other special methods for classes that mainly store data.
List Comprehension
A concise syntax for creating new lists by applying an expression to each item in an existing iterable.
Python Packaging with Poetry
A modern dependency management and packaging tool for Python that simplifies project setup, versioning, and publishing.
Python Interpreter
The program that reads and executes Python code, translating it into machine instructions at runtime.
 View All Python Terms →