Should I use “self” to define variables / objects of class instanced which I will not need to reach from the outside?

Question

I am not a complete beginner but fairly new to Python. Whilst working on a project today I just had an idea and wondered regarding the usage of \"self

Answer 1

Looks like you don't need the variable at all then:

class C:
    def __init__(self, parent=None):
        super(C, self).__init__(parent)
        self.important_property = AnotherClass().bring_the_jewels()

In response to your comment:

do I need to put self. infront of it if it's gonna be created, referenced and used once during __init__.

No, you don't. Use a regular variable then, and the object will be garbage-collected after __init__ exits.

class C:
    def __init__(self, parent = None):
        super(C, self).__init__(parent)
        some_temp_var = AnotherClass()
        self.important_property = some_temp_var.bring_the_jewels()