object life cycle

🧩 Object Lifecycle in OOP (Object-Oriented Programming)

The object lifecycle refers to the different phases an object goes through from creation to destruction. It involves the following stages:

1. Creation (Instantiation)

This is when an object is created in memory using a constructor.
In Python, this is done by calling the class name as a function.

Example:

class Car:
    def __init__(self, model):
        self.model = model

# Object creation
my_car = Car("Toyota")

Here, the object my_car is created, and the constructor __init__ is called.

2. Initialization

The object is initialized with default or passed values.
The constructor (__init__ in Python) is responsible for setting initial values or properties of the object.

Example:

class Car:
    def __init__(self, model):
        self.model = model  # Initializing the object's state

3. Usage

After creation, the object is used to perform actions or access data.
Methods can be invoked, and the object's state can be modified.

Example:

my_car.start_engine()  # Using the object to invoke methods

4. Destruction (Garbage Collection)

Once an object is no longer needed, it is destroyed or garbage collected in languages with automatic memory management like Python.
In languages like C++ or Java, destructors or finalizers handle object cleanup.

Example in Python:

In Python, the garbage collector automatically handles object destruction.
When an object goes out of scope or is no longer referenced, Python's garbage collector will reclaim the memory.

# When there are no references to 'my_car', it will eventually be garbage collected.
del my_car

5. Finalization

Some programming languages provide a mechanism for executing cleanup tasks when an object is destroyed.
In Python, the __del__ method can be used to define cleanup operations before an object is destroyed.

Example:

class Car:
    def __del__(self):
        print(f"The {self.model} car is being destroyed.")

my_car = Car("Toyota")
del my_car  # Output: "The Toyota car is being destroyed."

🔑 Summary of Object Lifecycle Stages:

Creation: Object is instantiated using a constructor.
Initialization: Initial state is set via the constructor.
Usage: Object performs actions using methods or properties.
Destruction: Memory is freed when the object is no longer in use (handled by garbage collector in Python).
Finalization: Optional cleanup before destruction using __del__ in Python.

Let me know if you need more examples or deeper insights into any of these phases!