Python Operator Overloading

The concept of python operator overloading is used almost in every programming where you can find that we are able to add additional functionality to a existing method.

Python Operator Overloading why is it used ?? how to understand it in much simpler way get started with this blog now

Sometimes we require function name to be same but be dynamic in doing various tasks by accepting multiple or different parameters at this scenario python operator overloading comes into picture.

Operator overloading is a feature in programming languages that allows you to redefine the behavior of an operator when it is applied to instances of your classes. In Python, you can overload many of the built-in operators by implementing special methods in your class definition.

Overloading operators can make your code more concise and easier to read by allowing you to write code that is more natural and intuitive. For example, you can overload the + operator to concatenate two strings, the - operator to subtract two numbers, or the * operator to multiply two matrices.

To overload an operator in Python, you need to define a special method with a name that corresponds to the operator you want to overload. The name of the method is surrounded by double underscores and is called a magic method or dunder method. For example, to overload the + operator, you need to define the __add__() method in your class.

Python allows the operator overloading feature, which means that you can redefine the behavior of some built-in operators when they are applied to instances of your classes. This is achieved through special methods in Python called magic or dunder methods (double underscore methods) or sometimes referred to as “special methods”.

Python allows the operator overloading feature, which means that you can redefine the behavior of some built-in operators when they are applied to instances of your classes. This is achieved through special methods in Python called magic or dunder methods (double underscore methods) or sometimes referred to as “special methods”.

Here are some of the most commonly used magic methods for operator overloading:

__add__(self, other) : Defines the behavior of the addition operator + when applied to instances of your class.

__sub__(self, other) : Defines the behavior of the subtraction operator - when applied to instances of your class.

__mul__(self, other) : Defines the behavior of the multiplication operator * when applied to instances of your class.

__truediv__(self, other) : Defines the behavior of the division operator / when applied to instances of your class.

Python Operator Overloading Video Tutorial :

Go through the below vlog for detailed instructions on implementations.

We can consider a basic example like

a = 10
b = 12

print(a+b)

output :

22

If you try to observe what happening in the below line of code

print(a+b)

has the real implementation like below

print( int.__add__(a, b))

OK so far so clear but what is method overloading ???

We will create a class and try to add two objects instead of numbers i.e., through variables.

Class A:
      def __init__(self, n1, n2):
          self.n1 = n1
          self.n2 = n2

And now with the help of class we will add numbers for which let us create objects.

a1 = A(1, 2)
a2 = A(3, 4)

Now try to print the output

You will be getting a error like type not supported.

Class A:
      def __init__(self, n1, n2):
          self.n1 = n1
          self.n2 = n2
    
      def __add__(self, other):
          t1 = self.n1 + other.n1
          t2 = self.n2 + other.n2

          return t1, t2

now try to print

print(a1 + a2)

a1 = A(1, 2)
a2 = A(3, 4)

output :

(4, 6)

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