type() function in Python (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 09 Aug, 2024

The type() function is mostly used for debugging purposes. Two different types of arguments can be passed to type() function, single and three arguments. If a single argument type(obj) is passed, it returns the type of the given object. If three argument types (object, bases, dict) are passed, it returns a new type object.

Python type() function Syntax

**Syntax: type(object, bases, dict)

**Parameters :

**Return: returns a new type class or essentially a metaclass.

How type() Function Works in Python?

In the given example, we are printing the type of variable x. We will determine the type of an object in Python.

Python `

x = 10 print(type(x))

`

Examples of the type() function in Python

By using type() function, we can determine the type of an object in Python. Below are some more examples related to type() function:

Finding the type of a Python object

Here we are checking the object type using the type() function in Python.

Python `

a = ("Geeks", "for", "Geeks") b = ["Geeks", "for", "Geeks"] c = {"Geeks": 1, "for":2, "Geeks":3} d = "Hello World" e = 10.23 f = 11.22

print(type(a)) print(type(b)) print(type(c)) print(type(d)) print(type(e)) print(type(f))

`

Output

<class 'tuple'> <class 'list'> <class 'dict'> <class 'str'> <class 'float'> <class 'float'>

Check if an Object is of Type in Python

In this example, we are testing the object using conditions, and printing the boolean.

Python `

print(type([]) is list)

print(type([]) is not list)

print(type(()) is tuple)

print(type({}) is dict)

print(type({}) is not list)

`

Output

True False True True True

Using type() with Conditional Statement

In this example , we are using type() function to determine the type of an object in Python with conditional if-else statement.

Python `

Example variables

my_tuple = (10, 'Hello', 45, 'Hi') my_dict = {1: 'One', 2: 'Two', 3: 'Three'}

Check if the variables have the same object type

if type(my_tuple) is not type(my_dict): print("The variables have different object types.") else: print("The variables have the same object type.")

`

Output

The variables have different object types.

Python type() With 3 Parameters

In the given example, we are creating a class without a base class and a class derived from a base class. The type() function allows for programmatically defining classes and their attributes at runtime.

Python `

New class(has no base) class with the

dynamic class initialization of type()

new = type('New', (object, ), dict(var1='GeeksforGeeks', b=2009))

Print type() which returns class 'type'

print(type(new)) print(vars(new))

Base class, incorporated

in our new class

class test: a = "Geeksforgeeks" b = 2009

Dynamically initialize Newer class

It will derive from the base class test

newer = type('Newer', (test, ), dict(a='Geeks', b=2018))

print(type(newer)) print(vars(newer))

`

**Output

<class ‘type’>

{‘var1’: ‘GeeksforGeeks’, ‘b’: 2009, ‘__module__’: ‘__main__’, ‘__dict__’: <attribute ‘__dict__’ of ‘New’ objects>, ‘__weakref__’: <attribute ‘__weakref__’ of ‘New’ objects>, ‘__doc__’: None}

<class ‘type’>

{‘a’: ‘Geeks’, ‘b’: 2018, ‘__module__’: ‘__main__’, ‘__doc__’: None}

Applications of Python type() Function