A Conceptual Primer on OOP in Python

Austin Cepalia 9 Lessons 44m intermediate python

This course is a conceptual primer on object-oriented programming (OOP) in Python. You’ll learn what OOP is, why it matters, and how to model real-world entities using classes and objects. Along the way, you’ll work with instance and class attributes, define methods, and finish with a short introduction to inheritance.

Note: There’s also have a newer, expanded course on the topic. For the most up-to-date course, take Intro to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python.

What’s Included:

9 Lessons
Video Subtitles and Full Transcripts
Accompanying Text-Based Tutorial
Interactive Quiz to Check Your Progress
Q&A With Python Experts: Ask a Question
Certificate of Completion

Related Learning Paths:

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Start Now

Intro to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python

9 Lessons 44m

1. What Is Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)?03:37

2. Classes in Python03:16

3. Class and Instance Attributes05:58

4. Adding Attributes to a Python Class06:51

5. Adding Methods to a Python Class05:52

6. Introduction to OOP Inheritance04:35

7. Inheritance Example08:22

8. Intro to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python (Quiz)04:00

9. Intro to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python (Summary)01:48

Start Now

About Austin Cepalia

Austin is a video tutorial author at Real Python. He graduated with a BS in CS from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2023, and now he writes software to support the semiconductor industry.

» More about Austin

Each tutorial at Real Python is created by a team of developers so that it meets our high quality standards. The team members who worked on this tutorial are:

Dan

David

Geir Arne

Joanna

Aldren

Martin

Jacob

Kate

Brenda

Related Courses:

Python Classes: The Power of Object-Oriented Programming

Class Concepts: Object-Oriented Programming in Python

Using Data Classes in Python

Python Basics: Object-Oriented Programming

Participant Comments

vishweshvar

This course gave a gentle introduction to OOP, loved the way it was clear, concise and straightforward not beating around the bush, highly recommended for beginners. Thanks Austin, you’re awesome.

Yogi

Thank you so much for this great tutorial session. Very well explained for novices like me to get a grasp of the concepts and the usage as well in the initial stages.

Jonathan Chatfield

Probably one of the best introductions to classes I have seen.

Terry

Great tutorial, I watched it several times and kept coming back for clarity. Within days I wrote two classes/modules and had them running. The concepts, especially the architecture framework, are well explained. This helped me finally get into OOP, Thanks

Walisson

Hi all! I’m new here and for sure me a member was the best thing that I did to keep myself on Python Learn track! All videos, articles and stuffs on this website are amazing! Topics are well explained, lean samples and directly to the point. Nice tutorial!

dbristow31

This was a fantastic intro to OOP! The step-by-step process and clear instruction helped me understand concepts I couldn’t before. One topic that was especially difficult for me was the use of the ‘self’ parameter and the ‘initializer.’ This video tutorial clarified those features of OOP and made it easy for me to use them. I’m excited to build on this knowledge with the other OOP video tutorials at RealPython!! Thanks, Austin!

Aparna

Excellent!! Crisp and simplistic way of explaining the most confusing terminologies

horacionesman

I have been trying to understand OOP for a while and this is the first tutorial in which I’ve started feeling I know what is all about! Thanks!

Dev

Very easy to follow. Keep up the great work.

fjavanderspek

Great course, clear and concise, with poignant examples! 10/10 honestly, wouldn’t know what to improve

eduartef

Thank you so much, really helpful for beginners.

kwf777

Great course and easy to follow and understand.

malcolmgandrews

Nice series of tutorials, great pace and clarity.

Jean Ferreira

Very good videos. I started learning the concepts of OOP programming at university, but I needed a more visual way to understand the concepts. Thanks!

Kyle

Very good introduction!

arnautovdmitry2015

It’s very helpful course. Absolutely nice. Thanks a lot!

Edgar Isai

Really good introductions, i got all the concepts, its easy to follow. Thanks.

John T

Lovely tutorial. very clear and concise. but dawg , its 2019. use f strings :)

DaveCarlson

This was well presented and helpfu. Thanks!

Vincenzo Fiorentini

Very good intro even for a complete beginner. Sweet and to the point !

Sohil

Very good intro to OOP in python.

Jordan Rowland

Great videos. I found my understanding of OOP was really solidified when working with SQLAlchemy for a Flask project, and having Post and User classes.

Rob

Thanks. Well paced and a nicely gentle introduction to OOP. At least it is gentle if you already have the basic concepts and are treating this as a refresher :-)

Peter T

Austin did an excellent job of clearly explaining the various OOP topics in all 7 videos, without leaving any gaps or questions. Now, I’m anxiously waiting for the next set of OOP videos to continue to this course & I hope they show up soon. IMHO, there aren’t enough OOP topics in realpython.com or dbader.org, but there are tons of other Python-related topics in both sites!

← Browse All Courses