How do I use abstract classes in Python?

How do I use abstract classes in Python?

Abstract classes in Python are classes that cannot be instantiated and are meant to be subclassed. You can define an abstract class using the abc module.

Can you show me an example of an abstract class?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

from abc import ABC, abstractmethod

class Animal(ABC):
    @abstractmethod
    def sound(self):
        pass

class Dog(Animal):
    def sound(self):
        return 'Woof!'

class Cat(Animal):
    def sound(self):
        return 'Meow!'

In this example, Animal is an abstract class with an abstract method sound.

What happens if I try to instantiate the abstract class?

If you try to instantiate an abstract class directly, you'll get a TypeError. For example:

animal = Animal()  # This will raise TypeError

How do I ensure that subclasses implement the abstract methods?

By using the @abstractmethod decorator, Python enforces that any subclass must implement the abstract methods, or it will also be considered abstract.