How do I check if a variable is an instance of a specific class or its subclasses in Python?
Benjamin C

In Python, you can check if a variable is an instance of a specific class or its subclasses using theisinstance() function. Theisinstance() function allows you to test whether an object belongs to a specified class or any of its subclasses. Here's a long-form explanation of how to perform this check: 1. Obtain the Variable: - Begin by obtaining the variable that you want to check its class instance. It could be a variable from user input, a function parameter, or any other source. 2. Check the Instance: - To check if the variable is an instance of a specific class or its subclasses, use theisinstance() function. - Theisinstance() function takes two arguments: the variable you want to check and the class or tuple of classes to compare against. - If the variable is an instance of the specified class or any of its subclasses, theisinstance() function returnsTrue. Otherwise, it returnsFalse. - Example:

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class MyBaseClass:
    pass

class MySubClass(MyBaseClass):
    pass

my_variable = MySubClass()

is_instance = isinstance(my_variable, MyBaseClass)
print(is_instance)  # Output: True

3. Handling Subclasses: - By providing a tuple of classes as the second argument toisinstance(), you can check if the variable is an instance of any of those classes or their subclasses. - Example:

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class MyBaseClass:
    pass

class MySubClass(MyBaseClass):
    pass

my_variable = MySubClass()

is_instance = isinstance(my_variable, (MyBaseClass, AnotherClass))
print(is_instance)  # Output: True

By using theisinstance() function, you can check if a variable is an instance of a specific class or any of its subclasses. This approach allows you to perform type checking and make decisions based on the class hierarchy.