What are some examples of generics in Python?

What are some examples of generics in Python?

Generics in Python allow you to write flexible and reusable code. For example, you can use the List type from the typing module to create a function that works with any list type.

Can you show me a code example?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

from typing import List, TypeVar

T = TypeVar('T')

def get_first_element(elements: List[T]) -> T:
    return elements[0]

This function returns the first element of a list, regardless of the type of elements in the list.

What if I want to use generics with a custom class?

You can definitely do that! Here's an example with a custom class:

from typing import TypeVar, Generic

T = TypeVar('T')

class Box(Generic[T]):
    def __init__(self, content: T):
        self.content = content

    def get_content(self) -> T:
        return self.content

This Box class can hold any type of content.

That's really helpful! Are there any limitations to using generics?

Yes, while generics are powerful, they can sometimes lead to complexity in type checking and may not enforce type constraints as strictly as in statically typed languages.