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# Python "self"

Example:

```
class Restaurant(object):
    bankrupt = False
    def open_branch(self):
        if not self.bankrupt:
            print("branch opened")
```

In Python, the first argument of every class method, including **init**, is always a reference to the current instance of the class. By convention, this argument is always named self. In the **init** method, self refers to the newly created object; in other class methods, it refers to the instance whose method was called. For example the below code is the same as the above code.

```
class Restaurant(object):
    bankrupt = False
    def open_branch(this):
        if not this.bankrupt:
            print("branch opened")
```