OOP Basics for Beginners With a Bank Account Class in Python

This guide is for individuals new to coding with a basic knowledge of programming concepts, such as data types, imperative programming, and namespaces. Creating new classes and objects (Object-Oriented Programming) is one of the essential software development paradigms, as it grants the developer’s code modularity and portability. Once you have completed this 10-minute guide, you will better understand how classes and objects work in Python.

You must have IDLE (Python 3.12 64-bit) installed on your computer.

Launch IDLE on your computer, click the ‘File’ tab, then click ‘New File.’

Click the ‘File’ tab, then save the newly created file as BankAccount.py.

Define the class. Each definition should be formatted in the corresponding figure (i.e., Step 3 = Figure 3). This is what makes a BankAccount its own type.

Define the constructor method to allow your class to initialize attributes. This step allows you to initialize the BankAccount and its attributes.

Define the method to deposit money. Now, the BankAccount can increment its instance amount.

Define the method to withdraw money. This gives the BankAccount a way to withdraw money only from what the account has.

Define the method to check the balance of a BankAccount object.

Define the formal string representation method of a BankAccount object. This returns the canonical representation of the BankAccount object.

Define the informal string representation method of a BankAccount object. This returns a readable version of the BankAccount object.

Save your program, click the ‘Run’ tab, then click ‘Run Module.’

Verify that your object is working as expected with the test code in Figure 11.

Congratulations on completing this step-by-step guide on creating a bank account class in Python to learn the basics of OOP. You should now have a class that encapsulates features such as deposits, withdrawals and a way to print out the object itself. To ensure the program runs correctly, check for syntax errors and verify that you follow the correct method calls. Also, check for logical errors, particularly in the conditional checks of your methods. Keep experimenting with your code, as that will only bring you closer to mastering Python and OOP!