Why use Abstract Base Classes in Python?

Question

Because I am used to the old ways of duck typing in Python, I fail to understand the need for ABC (abstract base classes). The help is good on how to use them.

I tried to read the rationale in the PEP, but it went over my head. If I was looking for a mutable sequence container, I would check for __setitem__, or more likely try to use it (EAFP). I haven't come across a real life use for the numbers module, which does use ABCs, but that is the closest I have to understanding.

Can anyone explain the rationale to me, please?

Answer 1

@Oddthinking's answer is not wrong, but I think it misses the real, practical reason Python has ABCs in a world of duck-typing.

Abstract methods are neat, but in my opinion they don't really fill any use-cases not already covered by duck typing. Abstract base classes' real power lies in the way they allow you to customise the behaviour of isinstance and issubclass. (__subclasshook__ is basically a friendlier API on top of Python's __instancecheck__ and __subclasscheck__ hooks.) Adapting built-in constructs to work on custom types is very much part of Python's philosophy.

Python's source code is exemplary. Here is how collections.Container is defined in the standard library (at time of writing):

class Container(metaclass=ABCMeta):
    __slots__ = ()

    @abstractmethod
    def __contains__(self, x):
        return False

    @classmethod
    def __subclasshook__(cls, C):
        if cls is Container:
            if any("__contains__" in B.__dict__ for B in C.__mro__):
                return True
        return NotImplemented

This definition of __subclasshook__ says that any class with a __contains__ attribute is considered to be a subclass of Container, even if it doesn't subclass it directly. So I can write this:

class ContainAllTheThings(object):
    def __contains__(self, item):
        return True

>>> issubclass(ContainAllTheThings, collections.Container)
True
>>> isinstance(ContainAllTheThings(), collections.Container)
True

In other words, if you implement the right interface, you're a subclass! ABCs provide a formal way to define interfaces in Python, while staying true to the spirit of duck-typing. Besides, this works in a way that honours the Open-Closed Principle.

Python's object model looks superficially similar to that of a more "traditional" OO system (by which I mean Java*) - we got yer classes, yer objects, yer methods - but when you scratch the surface you'll find something far richer and more flexible. Likewise, Python's notion of abstract base classes may be recognisable to a Java developer, but in practice they are intended for a very different purpose.

I sometimes find myself writing polymorphic functions that can act on a single item or a collection of items, and I find isinstance(x, collections.Iterable) to be much more readable than hasattr(x, '__iter__') or an equivalent try...except block. (If you didn't know Python, which of those three would make the intention of the code clearest?)

That said, I find that I rarely need to write my own ABC and I typically discover the need for one through refactoring. If I see a polymorphic function making a lot of attribute checks, or lots of functions making the same attribute checks, that smell suggests the existence of an ABC waiting to be extracted.

_{*without getting into the debate over whether Java is a "traditional" OO system...}

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Addendum: Even though an abstract base class can override the behaviour of isinstance and issubclass, it still doesn't enter the MRO of the virtual subclass. This is a potential pitfall for clients: not every object for which isinstance(x, MyABC) == True has the methods defined on MyABC.

class MyABC(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
    def abc_method(self):
        pass
    @classmethod
    def __subclasshook__(cls, C):
        return True

class C(object):
    pass

# typical client code
c = C()
if isinstance(c, MyABC):  # will be true
    c.abc_method()  # raises AttributeError

Unfortunately this one of those "just don't do that" traps (of which Python has relatively few!): avoid defining ABCs with both a __subclasshook__ and non-abstract methods. Moreover, you should make your definition of __subclasshook__ consistent with the set of abstract methods your ABC defines.