What does __init__ mean?
There are more than one use for the expression init in Python.
If you see a file named init.py in a directory, it means that directory should be treated as a package (collections of variable, function and class definitions). This can be an empty file, or it can contain initialisation code for the package.
The more likely case you'll encounter it is inside a class, where init() initialises an instance of a class. You will see it defined like this
class MyClass:
def init(self,a,b,c,d):
#SOME CODE
What this means is that if you create an instance of a class: MyInstance = MyClass(a,b,c,d), this will run the init function, which will contain initialisation code. This defines what you do with your variables a,b,c,d. Note: self refers to the instance of the class being instantiated, and is implicit (you shouldn't include it when calling MyClass).
Some basic initialisation code could be:
self.a = a
self.b = b
etc.
Related Python Mentoring answers
All answers ▸Given a list of N numbers, use a single list comprehension to produce a new list that only contains those values that are: (a) even numbers, and (b) from elements in the original list that had even indices .
Write a function that takes a string, and outputs that string formatted in camelcase. (alternating upper and lower case for each character, e.g. cAmElCaSe)
How do you write code to implement a recursive fibonacci algorithm?
Create a program that takes in two numbers and returns the highest of the two