What is the purpose of a constructor in Python?

a) To define a method that is called automatically when an object is created

b) To destroy an object

c) To initialize class variables

d) To create an abstract method

Answer:

a) To define a method that is called automatically when an object is created

Explanation:

A constructor in Python is a special method called __init__() that is automatically invoked when an object of a class is created. The constructor is used to initialize the object’s attributes and perform any setup or initialization tasks required for the object.

class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
self.name = name
self.age = age

def greet(self):
print(f"Hello, my name is {self.name} and I am {self.age} years old.")

# Creating an object of Person class
person = Person("Alice", 30)
person.greet()  # Output: Hello, my name is Alice and I am 30 years old.

In this example, the __init__() method initializes the name and age attributes of the Person class when a new object is created. The constructor ensures that the object is in a valid state before it is used.

Constructors are essential for setting up objects with the necessary initial data and ensuring that they are ready for use immediately after creation.