Understanding Python’s __init__ Method and Interpreting Errors with Empty Initialization

Python’s Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) capabilities mainly involve classes and objects. A crucial part of defining a Python class is initializing the class attributes and methods. We use the __init__ method of a class for that.
The __init__ special method is executed whenever we create a new instance (object) of a class. This method allows us to initialize the specific attributes of our class. However, what happens when the __init__ method doesn’t require any initialization and thereby is left empty?
Empty __init__ methods in Python can be addressed using the keyword pass or simply returning None.
Example using pass:

class MyClass:
    def __init__(self):
        pass  # The pass keyword performs no operation. It’s a placeholder.

Example using None:

class MyClass:
    def __init__(self):
        return None  # Explicitly returns None.

In Python, the pass statement is used when your code requires no operation but the syntax requires a statement. This is common in places where your code will eventually reside but hasn’t been written yet.
However, returning None explicitly states that the function doesn’t return anything. In Python, if a function doesn’t have a return statement, it implicitly returns None.
So, if you’re wondering whether to use pass or None in an __init__ method, bear in mind that __init__() is meant to initialize instances of a class and therefore doesn’t usually necessitate a return statement. Thus, using just pass would suffice.
Now, what happens when you define an __init__ method and leave it without an indented statement? Python throws an IndentationError. Here’s an example of the error:

class MyClass:
    def __init__(self):
# This raises IndentationError: expected an indented block.

To prevent this, you should at least use the pass statement inside the __init__ method.

```python
class MyClass:
def init(self):
pass