What are advanced dataclasses in Python?

What are advanced dataclasses in Python?

Advanced dataclasses in Python extend the basic functionality of dataclasses, allowing for features like default factories, immutability, and more complex field types.

Can you give me an example of using default factories?

Sure! You can use field(default_factory=list) to create a list as a default value for a field. Here's an example:

from dataclasses import dataclass, field

@dataclass
class Example:
    items: list = field(default_factory=list)

What about making a dataclass immutable?

To make a dataclass immutable, you can set frozen=True in the dataclass decorator. This prevents any modification after creation:

@dataclass(frozen=True)
class ImmutableExample:
    value: int

Are there any performance considerations with advanced dataclasses?

Yes, while advanced dataclasses provide more functionality, they can introduce some overhead. It's important to balance features with performance needs.