Question :
Can I use the word “type” in my own code or is it reserved? My function header:
def get(
self,
region='Delhi',
city='Delhi',
category='Apartments',
type='For sale',
limit = 60,
PAGESIZE=5,
year=2012,
month=1,
day=1,
next_page=None,
threetapspage=0,
):
Thank you
Answer #1:
Using type as a keyword argument to a function will mask the built-in function “type” within the scope of the function. So while doing so does not raise a SyntaxError, it is not considered good practice, and I would avoid doing so.
Answer #2:
Neither. It’s not a reserved word (a list of which can be found at http://docs.python.org/reference/lexical_analysis.html#keywords ), but it’s generally a bad idea to shadow any builtin.
Answer #3:
While others have pointed out that it’s bad form to shadow python built-ins, this is only the case when either name a function or function parameter as type, however –
It should be noted that the python built-in type is not shadowed in any way if you were to name a class attribute as type.
Even when referencing your class attribute, it would always be prefixed by the class instance self or a custom instance variable – and the python built-in would not be hindered.
For example:
Okay:
>>> class SomeClass():
... type = 'foobar'
...
... def someFunction(self):
... return self.type
Not Okay:
>>> def type(): # Overrides python built-in in global scope
... pass
...
>>> def foobar(type):
... return type # Overrides python built-in within func
Answer #4:
type should absolutely be consider a reserved word. While it can be tempting to use this word for database fields, consider that the fact that type() is one of the most important debugging/ testing functions because it tells you the class of an object.
$ python
>>> x = 5
>>> s = "rockets"
>>> y = [1,2,3]
>>> print(type(x))
class 'int'
>>> print(type(s))
class 'str'
>>> print(type(y))
class 'list'
An atlas would be classified a type of book, but consider using the word “category” instead.
Answer #5:
That is more than a decade old question and to be on the safe side, I would recommend using kind instead of type as argument.
For a long time I was considering building a rename recommendation for all reserved or builins, but seeing your question made me finally do it.
Please check python-keyword-aliases.md and feel free to propose new entries to that list.
