Question

I want to create a class with two methods at this point (I also want to be able to
alter the class obviously).

class ogrGeo(object):

    def __init__(self):
        pass

    def CreateLine(self, o_file, xy):
        #lots of code


    def CreatePoint(self, o_file, xy):
        # lot's of the same code as CreateLine(), 
        # only minor differences

To keep things as clean and to to repeat as
less code as possible I’m asking for some advise. The two methods CreateLine()
and CreatePoint() share a lot of code. To reduce redundance:
Should a define third method that both methods can call?
In this case you could still call
o = ogrGeo()
o.CreateLine(...)
o.CreatePoint(...)seperatly.
Or should I merge them into one method? Is there another solution I haven’t thought about or know nothing about?

Thanks already for any suggestions.

Answer 1

It’s perfectly normal to factor out common code into a (private) helper method:

class ogrGeo(object)
    def __init__(self):
        pass

    def CreateLine(self, o_file, xy):
        #lots of code
        value = self._utility_method(xy)

    def CreatePoint(self, o_file, xy):
        # lot's of the same code as CreateLine(), 
        # only minor differences
        value = self._utility_method(xy)

    def _utility_method(self, xy):
        # Common code here
        return value

The method could return a value, or it could directly manipulate the attributes on self.

A word of advice: read the Python style guide and stick to it’s conventions. Most other python projects do, and it’ll make your code easier to comprehend for other Python developers if you do.