Python __trunc__() Magic Method

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Syntax and Definition

object.__trunc__(self)

The Python __trunc__() method implements the behavior of the math.trunc() function. For example, if you attempt to call math.trunc(x), Python will run the x.__trunc__() method to obtain the return value.

We call this a “Dunder Method” for “Double Underscore Method” (also called “magic method”). To get a list of all dunder methods with explanation, check out our dunder cheat sheet article on this blog.

🛑 The built-in function int() falls back to __trunc__() if both magic methods __int__() and __index__() are undefined.

Example

The following code snippet overrides the __trunc__() dunder method to return the “rounded down” age of a Person when you pass an object of type Person into the math.trunc() function:

import math


class Person:
    def __init__(self, age):
        self.age = age

    def __trunc__(self):
        return 99



alice = Person(42.99999)
print(math.trunc(alice))
# 99

bob = Person(42.0)
print(math.trunc(bob))
# 99

How to fix “TypeError: type XXX doesn’t define __trunc__ method”?

Note that without defining the __floor__() method, Python would’ve raised a TypeError:

import math


class Person:
    def __init__(self, age):
        self.age = age



alice = Person(42.99999)
print(math.trunc(alice))

Output:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\xcent\Desktop\code.py", line 11, in <module>
    print(math.trunc(alice))
TypeError: type Person doesn't define __trunc__ method

To fix this TypeError, simply define the __trunc__() method as outlined in the first code snippet in this article.

Background

The truncation function takes a real number x and returns its integer part n. (Unlike ⌈⋅⌉ and ⌊⋅⌋, there isn’t a standard way of writing the truncation function.)

The math.trunc() method does the same thing as int() applied to floats. If you write a number x as a decimal, then math.trunc() returns the integer part to the left of the decimal point. Its output has class int.

import math


lst = [1.5, 3, -6.2, math.pi, 0, 2.71828, 29.0 , -91.312, math.sqrt(2)]

for x in lst: 
    print("math.trunc(" + str(x) + "): " + str(math.trunc(x)))

Output:

math.trunc(1.5): 1
math.trunc(3): 3
math.trunc(-6.2): -6
math.trunc(3.141592653589793): 3
math.trunc(0): 0
math.trunc(2.71828): 2
math.trunc(29.0): 29
math.trunc(-91.312): -91
math.trunc(1.4142135623730951): 1

You can read more in our full guide:

References:

Where to Go From Here?

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