Difference between @staticmethod and @classmethod

In Python, a method is a function that is associated with a class. There are two types of methods in Python: instance methods and static methods.

Instance methods are defined inside a class and are used to access the attributes and behaviors of an instance of that class. They must have at least one argument (self) that refers to the instance of the object itself. You can call an instance method on an instance of the class or on the class itself.

Static methods are methods that are bound to a class rather than the instances of the class. They do not have access to the instance of the class and cannot modify object state. You can call a static method on a class or on an instance of the class, but it does not have access to any instance-specific state.

The @staticmethod and @classmethod decorators are used to define static and class methods in Python, respectively.

Here's an example of how to define and use static and class methods in Python:

class MyClass:
    def __init__(self, value):
        self.value = value
    
    # instance method
    def instance_method(self):
        return f'instance method called, value={self.value}'
    
    # static method
    @staticmethod
    def static_method():
        return 'static method called'
    
    # class method
    @classmethod
    def class_method(cls):
        return f'class method called, cls={cls.__name__}'

# create an instance of MyClass
obj = MyClass(value=10)

# call instance method on instance
print(obj.instance_method())  # Output: 'instance method called, value=10'

# call instance method on class
print(MyClass.instance_method(obj))  # Output: 'instance method called, value=10'

# call static method on instance
print(obj.static_method())  # Output: 'static method called'

# call static method on class
print(MyClass.static_method())  # Output: 'static method called'

# call class method on instance
print(obj.class_method())  # Output: 'class method called, cls=MyClass'

# call class method on class
print(MyClass.class_method())  # Output: 'class method called, cls=MyClass'