4.9. Dataclass Helpers

fields() - Returns a tuple of Field objects
asdict() - converts the dataclass to a dict
astuple() - converts the dataclass to a tuple
is_dataclass() - checks if argument is a dataclass

4.9.1. SetUp

>>> from dataclasses import dataclass

4.9.2. Fields

fields(class_or_instance)

Returns a tuple of Field objects that define the fields for this Data Class. Accepts either a Data Class, or an instance of a Data Class. Raises ValueError if not passed a Data Class or instance of one. Does not return pseudo-fields which are ClassVar or InitVar.

Import:

>>> from dataclasses import fields

Definition:

>>> @dataclass
... class Group:
...     gid: int
...     name: str
>>>
>>> @dataclass
... class User:
...     firstname: str
...     lastname: str
...     groups: list[Group]

Use:

>>> mark = User('Mark', 'Watney', groups=[Group(2035, 'Ares3')])
>>>
>>> fields(User)  
(Field(name='firstname',type=<class 'str'>,default=<dataclasses._MISSING_TYPE object at 0x...>,default_factory=<dataclasses._MISSING_TYPE object at 0x...>,init=True,repr=True,hash=None,compare=True,metadata=mappingproxy({}),kw_only=False,_field_type=_FIELD),
 Field(name='lastname',type=<class 'str'>,default=<dataclasses._MISSING_TYPE object at 0x...>,default_factory=<dataclasses._MISSING_TYPE object at 0x...>,init=True,repr=True,hash=None,compare=True,metadata=mappingproxy({}),kw_only=False,_field_type=_FIELD),
 Field(name='groups',type=list[__main__.Group],default=<dataclasses._MISSING_TYPE object at 0x...>,default_factory=<dataclasses._MISSING_TYPE object at 0x...>,init=True,repr=True,hash=None,compare=True,metadata=mappingproxy({}),kw_only=False,_field_type=_FIELD))

4.9.3. As Dict

asdict(instance, *, dict_factory=dict)

Converts the Data Class instance to a dict (by using the factory function dict_factory). As dict does the conversion recursively.

Import:

>>> from dataclasses import asdict

Definition:

>>> @dataclass
... class Group:
...     gid: int
...     name: str
>>>
>>> @dataclass
... class User:
...     firstname: str
...     lastname: str
...     groups: list[Group]
>>>
>>>
>>> mark = User('Mark', 'Watney', groups=[Group(gid=1, name='admin')])

Use:

>>> asdict(mark)  
{'firstname': 'Mark',
 'lastname': 'Watney',
 'groups': [{'gid': 1, 'name': 'admin'}]}

>>> vars(mark)  
{'firstname': 'Mark',
 'lastname': 'Watney',
 'groups': [Group(gid=1, name='admin')]}

>>> dict(mark)
Traceback (most recent call last):
TypeError: 'User' object is not iterable

4.9.4. As Tuple

astuple(*, tuple_factory=tuple)

Converts the Data Class instance to a tuple (by using the factory function tuple_factory). Each Data Class is converted to a tuple of its field values. Data Classes, dicts, lists, and tuples are recursed into.

Import:

>>> from dataclasses import astuple

Definition:

>>> @dataclass
... class Group:
...     gid: int
...     name: str
>>>
>>> @dataclass
... class User:
...     firstname: str
...     lastname: str
...     groups: list[Group]

Use:

>>> mark = User('Mark', 'Watney', groups=[Group(gid=1, name='admin')])
>>>
>>> astuple(mark)
('Mark', 'Watney', [(1, 'admin')])

4.9.5. Is Dataclass

is_dataclass(class_or_instance)

Returns True if its parameter is a dataclass or an instance of one, otherwise returns False.

Import:

>>> from dataclasses import is_dataclass

Use:

>>> @dataclass
... class User:
...     firstname: str
...     lastname: str
>>>
>>>
>>> mark = User('Mark', 'Watney')
>>>
>>> is_dataclass(User)
True
>>>
>>> is_dataclass(mark)
True

Normal class:

>>> class User:
...     firstname: str
...     lastname: str
...
...     def __init__(self, firstname, lastname):
...         self.firstname = firstname
...         self.lastname = lastname
>>>
>>>
>>> mark = User('Mark', 'Watney')
>>>
>>> is_dataclass(User)
False
>>>
>>> is_dataclass(mark)
False