Why do you need "self." in Python to refer to instance variables?

I have been programming into a number of languages like Java, Ruby, Haskell and Python. I have to switch between many languages per day due to different projects I work on. Now, the issue is I often forget to write self as the first parameter in the function definitions in Python same is with calling methods on the same object. That said, I am quite amazed by this approach of Python. Basically we have to type more to get the things done, in the languages like Java and Ruby things are made simple by automatically referencing the variables in the current object. My question is why is this self necessary? Is it purely a style choice, or is there a reason why Python can't let you omit self the way Java and C++ let you omit this?

Apr 2, 2025 - 20:06

I have been programming into a number of languages like Java, Ruby, Haskell and Python. I have to switch between many languages per day due to different projects I work on. Now, the issue is I often forget to write self as the first parameter in the function definitions in Python same is with calling methods on the same object.

That said, I am quite amazed by this approach of Python. Basically we have to type more to get the things done, in the languages like Java and Ruby things are made simple by automatically referencing the variables in the current object.

My question is why is this self necessary? Is it purely a style choice, or is there a reason why Python can't let you omit self the way Java and C++ let you omit this?