Operator Overloading

Operator overloading allows you to redefine the behavior of built-in operators for custom objects. This can make your code more intuitive and readable.

Common Operators for Overloading:

• Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, //, %, **, +=, -=, *=, /=

• Comparison operators: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=

• Boolean operators: and, or, not

Overloading Methods:

• Arithmetic operators: __add__, __sub__, __mul__, __truediv__, __floordiv__, __mod__, __pow__, __iadd__, __isub__, __imul__, __itruediv__, __ifloordiv__, __imod__, __ipow__

• Comparison operators: __eq__, __ne__, __lt__, __gt__, __le__, __ge__

• Boolean operators: __and__, __or__, __not__

Example:

Python

class Vector:

  def __init__(self, x, y):

    self.x = x

    self.y = y

  def __add__(self, other):

    return Vector(self.x + other.x, self.y + other.y)

  def __str__(self):

    return f"({self.x}, {self.y})"

v1 = Vector(2, 3)

v2 = Vector(1, 4)

v3 = v1 + v2

print(v3)     # Output: (3, 7)

Key Points:

• Operator overloading provides a more intuitive way to work with custom objects.

• It enhances code readability and maintainability.

• Be careful not to overload operators in a way that conflicts with their intended behavior.

• Consider using built-in operator methods whenever possible to avoid reinventing the wheel.

By understanding operator overloading, you can write more expressive and Pythonic code.