Definition of "property"

[Irv Kalb]

> On May 30, 2021, at 10:15 AM, Jon Ribbens via Python-list <python-list at python.org> wrote:
> 
> On 2021-05-30, Irv Kalb <Irv at furrypants.com> wrote:
>> I understand what a "property" is, how it is used and the benefits,
>> but apparently my explanation hasn't made the light bulb go on for my
>> editor.  The editor is asking for a definition of property.  I've
>> looked at many articles on line and a number of books, and I haven't
>> found an appropriate one yet.
>> 
>> I have written some good examples of how it works, but I agree that a
>> definition up front would be helpful.  I have tried a number of times,
>> but my attempts to define it have not been clear.  Perhaps the best
>> I've found so far is from the Python documentation:  
>> 
>> A property object has getter, setter, and deleter methods usable as
>> decorators that create a copy of the property with the corresponding
>> accessor function set to the decorated function. 
> 
> A property is an attribute of a class that pretends to be a data
> attribute but in fact causes methods to be called when it is
> accessed.

Thank you to everyone who made suggestions of a definition of a property.  I will go with a definition based on this one from Jon R, with the clarification from Terry R.

Yes, the upcoming book is on object-oriented programing using Python, and goes into detail about the concepts behind OOP.  The unique approach is that I use pygame and explain how to build a number of user interface "widgets" (like buttons, text input and output boxes, draggers, etc.) to show the fundamentals of OOP in a highly visible way.  I use these widgets to implement a number of small games that also incorporate some additional classes like timers, animation, etc.

Irv