In Python, how can one differentiate between an abstract method and an abstract attribute?

edit

In Python, there is no direct way to differentiate between an abstract method and an abstract attribute because both are represented using the same abstractmethod decorator.

However, we can infer the difference between these two based on their usage and implementation.

Abstract methods are used to define a prototype for a method that must be implemented by any class that inherits from the abstract class. Abstract methods are indicated by the abstractmethod decorator above the method definition. For example:

from abc import ABC, abstractmethod

class Example(ABC):

    @abstractmethod
    def my_method(self):
        pass

Here, my_method is an abstract method.

On the other hand, abstract attributes are used to define a prototype for an attribute that must be implemented by any class that inherits from the abstract class. Abstract attributes are also indicated by the abstractmethod decorator, but the implementation of the abstract attribute is left to the subclasses. For example:

from abc import ABC, abstractmethod

class Example(ABC):

    @abstractmethod
    def my_attribute(self):
        pass

Here, my_attribute is an abstract attribute.

In summary, abstract methods define a prototype for a method that subclasses must implement, while abstract attributes define a prototype for an attribute that subclasses must provide an implementation for.