Exercise 5.5.5: Rectangle class

Exercise 5.5.5: Rectangle class

5 points

Let’s Go!

Write your own accessor and mutator method for the Rectangle class instance variables.

You should create the following methods:

• getHeight
• setHeight
• getWidth
• setWidth
• getArea
• getPerimeter
• toString- The output of a rectangle with width 10 and height 4 method should be:

Rectangle width: 10, Rectangle height: 4

THE CODEHS ANSWER WITH NO ERRORS PLEASE 

The correct answer and explanation is:

Here is the correct implementation of the Rectangle class with accessor and mutator methods (getHeight, setHeight, getWidth, setWidth), as well as methods to compute the area (getArea), perimeter (getPerimeter), and a toString method.

Explanation (300 words)

The Rectangle class is a blueprint for creating rectangle objects with width and height as instance variables. Here’s how the implementation works:

1. Constructor (__init__): This initializes the rectangle’s width and height when a new object is created.
2. Accessor Methods:
   • getHeight returns the rectangle’s height.
   • getWidth returns the rectangle’s width. These methods allow safe and controlled access to private or internal variables.
3. Mutator Methods:
   • setHeight allows updating the height of the rectangle.
   • setWidth allows updating the width of the rectangle. These methods enable modifications to instance variables while maintaining control and ensuring validations can be added if necessary.
4. Area and Perimeter:
   • getArea calculates the area by multiplying width by height.
   • getPerimeter calculates the perimeter using the formula 2 * (width + height).
5. toString Method:
   • This method formats the rectangle’s width and height into a user-friendly string representation.

Advantages:

• Encapsulation: The class provides controlled access and modification of instance variables.
• Reusability: The methods can be reused, and the logic for area/perimeter is centralized within the class.
• Readability: The toString method makes debugging and logging easier.

This implementation is free of errors and adheres to best practices for creating Python classes with accessor and mutator methods.