Pulling information from user input

Question

This code works by taking my user input and correctly pulling the information I'm giving it.

I'm having difficulty understanding the implementation of methods in classes. I'm pretty sure I'm not doing this the correct way. Can anyone show me the way it should be done?

class prog_setup:


 def __init__(self):
  """Initiates the below modules/variables."""

  self.get_starlist()
  self.get_InputKey()
  self.define_listsANDarrays()  
  self.determine_normalizationpoint()
  self.create_fobs_fobserr()
  #self.calculate_taumag()
  self.search_DUSTYmodels()
  self.calculate_chi2()
  self.delete_null_components()
  self.dust_whittet_sub()

 def get_starlist(self):
  """Imports the list of stars that you would like information on."""

  self.star_list=np.array([])

  try:
   get_star_list=raw_input('Input pathname of the list of stars to be studied: ')
   incoming_stars=open(get_star_list,'rb')
   for line in incoming_stars:
     x=line.split()
     self.star_list=np.append(self.star_list,x) #Appends the individual star-IDs to the empty array star_list.
   print 'Stars imported successfully.'
  except IOError:
   print 'Star import unsuccessful. Check that the star catalog file-path is correct. Program exiting now.'
   sys.exit()
  self.indices_of_star_list=range(len(self.star_list))


def get_InputKey(self):
 """Imports the Input (.inp) file. Historically, InputUttenthaler.inp. Allows for definition
 of parameters which are utilized later in the script."""

 input_script=raw_input('Pathname of .inp file: ')
 InputKey=[]
 self.band=''
 self.Ak_scalefactor=''
 try:
  with open(input_script) as input_key:
    for line in input_key.readlines():
     x=[item for item in line.split()]
     InputKey.append(x)
    if InputKey[0][0]=='1' or InputKey[0][0]=='2':  #Checks to see if .inp file is valid or not by checking the first row/column which should be 1 or 2.
     print 'Your .inp file was successfully imported'
    else:
     print 'Your .inp file import failed. Check the validity of your file.\n Program exiting now.'
     sys.exit()
 except IOError:
  print 'The .inp file import was unsuccessful. Check that your file-path is valid.\n Program exiting now.'                                
  sys.exit()

The entire code is longer; I just put in the first two methods to give an example of what my structure looks like.

Answer 1

If you decide to implement this without using a class you can simply write:

def get_starlist():
    ...
def get_inputkey():
    ...

if __name__ == "__main__":
    get_starlist()
    get_input_key()
    define_lists_and_arrays()  
    determine_normalization_point()
    create_fobs_fobserr()
    search_DUSTY_models()
    calculate_chi2()
    delete_null_components()
    dust_whittet_sub()

But if you find that some of your functions are sharing data a lot you may want to attach them to a class, or pass instances of a class (objects) between the different functions. It's hard to say more without knowing what you're trying to do.

Answer 2

If your methods don't use any members write the as static methods

class ProgSetup(object):
   @staticmethod
   def getStarlist(x):
       pass

Some more tips:

• all classes should inheritance from object
• please use more spaces for indentation
• don't put _ in your variable/method names except for constants like THIS_IS_MY_CONSTANT
• write your variable names out, don't write short function/variable names