Question

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How many Python classes should I put in one file?

Coming from a C++ background I’ve grown accustomed to organizing my classes such that, for the most part, there’s a 1:1 ratio between classes and files. By making it so that a single file contains a single class I find the code more navigable. As I introduce myself to Python I’m finding lots of examples where a single file contains multiple classes. Is that the recommended way of doing things in Python? If so, why?

Am I missing this convention in the PEP8?

Answer 1

Here are some possible reasons:

1. Python is not exclusively class-based – the natural unit of code decomposition in Python is the module. Modules are just as likely to contain functions (which are first-class objects in Python) as classes. In Java, the unit of decomposition is the class. Hence, Python has one module=one file, and Java has one (public) class=one file.
2. Python is much more expressive than Java, and if you restrict yourself to one class per file (which Python does not prevent you from doing) you will end up with lots of very small files – more to keep track of with very little benefit.

An example of roughly equivalent functionality: Java’s log4j => a couple of dozen files, ~8000 SLOC. Python logging => 3 files, ~ 2800 SLOC.