Python Language Tutorial => Default values for instance variables

Example

If the variable contains a value of an immutable type (e.g. a string) then it is okay to assign a default value like this

class Rectangle(object):
    def __init__(self, width, height, color='blue'):
        self.width = width
        self.height = height
        self.color = color
    
    def area(self):
        return self.width  * self.height 

# Create some instances of the class
default_rectangle = Rectangle(2, 3)
print(default_rectangle.color) # blue

red_rectangle = Rectangle(2, 3, 'red')
print(red_rectangle.color) # red

One needs to be careful when initializing mutable objects such as lists in the constructor. Consider the following example:

class Rectangle2D(object):
    def __init__(self, width, height, pos=[0,0], color='blue'):  
        self.width = width
        self.height = height
        self.pos = pos
        self.color = color

r1 = Rectangle2D(5,3)
r2 = Rectangle2D(7,8)
r1.pos[0] = 4
r1.pos # [4, 0]
r2.pos # [4, 0] r2's pos has changed as well

This behavior is caused by the fact that in Python default parameters are bound at function execution and not at function declaration. To get a default instance variable that's not shared among instances, one should use a construct like this:

class Rectangle2D(object):
    def __init__(self, width, height, pos=None, color='blue'):  
        self.width = width
        self.height = height
        self.pos = pos or [0, 0] # default value is [0, 0]
        self.color = color

r1 = Rectangle2D(5,3)
r2 = Rectangle2D(7,8)
r1.pos[0] = 4
r1.pos # [4, 0]
r2.pos # [0, 0] r2's pos hasn't changed

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