What I do
- Implement dependency injection
- Design loosely coupled systems
- Create inversion of control containers
- Manage service lifetimes
- Handle circular dependencies
- Configure dependency scopes
- Implement constructor injection
- Use DI for testing
When to use me
When implementing dependency injection or improving testability.
Dependency Injection Basics
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
from typing import Type, TypeVar, Generic, Dict, Any
T = TypeVar('T')
class DependencyContainer:
"""Simple dependency injection container."""
def __init__(self):
self._services: Dict[Type, Any] = {}
self._singletons: Dict[Type, Any] = {}
def register(
self,
interface: Type[T],
implementation: Type[T],
singleton: bool = False
) -> None:
"""Register a dependency."""
self._services[interface] = (implementation, singleton)
def resolve(self, interface: Type[T]) -> T:
"""Resolve a dependency."""
if interface not in self._services:
raise DependencyNotFoundError(interface)
implementation, is_singleton = self._services[interface]
if is_singleton:
if interface not in self._singletons:
self._singletons[interface] = implementation()
return self._singletons[interface]
return implementation()
# Example: Before (tight coupling)
class UserService:
def __init__(self):
self.repository = UserRepository()
self.logger = Logger()
self.cache = RedisCache()
# Example: After (dependency injection)
class UserService:
def __init__(
self,
repository: UserRepositoryInterface,
logger: LoggerInterface,
cache: CacheInterface
):
self.repository = repository
self.logger = logger
self.cache = cache
Interface-Based Design
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
from typing import Protocol, runtimeruntime_checkable
_checkable
@class UserRepositoryProtocol(Protocol):
"""Protocol for user repository."""
@abstractmethod
def get_by_id(self, user_id: str) -> 'User':
pass
@abstractmethod
def get_by_email(self, email: str) -> 'User':
pass
@abstractmethod
def save(self, user: 'User') -> None:
pass
class UserRepository(UserRepositoryProtocol):
"""Concrete implementation of user repository."""
def __init__(self, db_session):
self.session = db_session
def get_by_id(self, user_id: str) -> 'User':
return self.session.query(User).get(user_id)
def get_by_email(self, email: str) -> 'User':
return self.session.query(User).filter_by(email=email).first()
def save(self, user: 'User') -> None:
self.session.add(user)
self.session.commit()
class LoggerProtocol(Protocol):
"""Protocol for logging."""
@abstractmethod
def info(self, message: str) -> None:
pass
@abstractmethod
def error(self, message: str) -> None:
pass
class StdOutLogger:
"""Stdout logger implementation."""
def info(self, message: str) -> None:
print(f"[INFO] {message}")
def error(self, message: str) -> None:
print(f"[ERROR] {message}")
Constructor Injection
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class CreateUserInput:
"""Input for creating a user."""
email: str
name: str
password: str
class UserApplicationService:
"""Application service with dependencies."""
def __init__(
self,
user_repository: UserRepositoryProtocol,
email_service: 'EmailServiceProtocol',
password_hasher: 'PasswordHasherProtocol',
logger: LoggerProtocol,
):
self.user_repository = user_repository
self.email_service = email_service
self.password_hasher = password_hasher
self.logger = logger
def create_user(self, input: CreateUserInput) -> 'User':
"""Create a new user."""
# Validate
if self.user_repository.get_by_email(input.email):
raise UserAlreadyExistsError(input.email)
# Hash password
hashed_password = self.password_hasher.hash(input.password)
# Create user
user = User(
email=input.email,
name=input.name,
password_hash=hashed_password,
)
# Persist
self.user_repository.save(user)
# Send welcome email
self.email_service.send_welcome(input.email, input.name)
# Log
self.logger.info(f"User created: {user.id}")
return user
def get_user(self, user_id: str) -> 'User':
"""Get user by ID."""
user = self.user_repository.get_by_id(user_id)
if not user:
raise UserNotFoundError(user_id)
return user
Method and Property Injection
class OrderProcessor:
"""Order processor with method injection."""
def __init__(self):
self._logger = None
def inject_logger(self, logger: LoggerProtocol) -> None:
"""Method injection for logger."""
self._logger = logger
@property
def logger(self) -> LoggerProtocol:
"""Property with lazy initialization."""
if self._logger is None:
self._logger = DefaultLogger()
return self._logger
def process_order(self, order: 'Order') -> None:
"""Process order."""
self.logger.info(f"Processing order: {order.id}")
# Process logic...
# Context manager injection
class ServiceScope:
"""Context manager for dependency scope."""
def __init__(self, container: DependencyContainer):
self.container = container
self._overrides = {}
def __enter__(self):
return self
def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
pass
def register_override(self, interface: Type, instance: Any) -> 'ServiceScope':
"""Register override for scope."""
self._overrides[interface] = instance
return self
def resolve(self, interface: Type[T]) -> T:
"""Resolve with overrides."""
if interface in self._overrides:
return self._overrides[interface]
return self.container.resolve(interface)
# Usage
with ServiceScope(container) as scope:
mock_logger = MockLogger()
scope.register_override(LoggerProtocol, mock_logger)
processor = scope.resolve(OrderProcessor)
Advanced Patterns
from typing import Callable, TypeVar, Generic
T = TypeVar('T')
class Factory:
"""Factory pattern for creating instances."""
def __init__(self, container: DependencyContainer):
self.container = container
def create_user_repository(self) -> UserRepository:
"""Factory method."""
return UserRepository(
db_session=self.container.resolve(DatabaseSession)
)
class LazyProxy(Generic[T]):
"""Lazy proxy for deferred dependency resolution."""
def __init__(self, interface: Type[T]):
self._interface = interface
_resolved: T = None
_instance: T = None
def _get_instance(self) -> T:
if self._instance is None:
self._instance = container.resolve(self._interface)
return self._instance
def __getattr__(self, name: str) -> Any:
return getattr(self._get_instance(), name)
def __call__(self, *args, **kwargs) -> Any:
return self._get_instance()(*args, **kwargs)
# Decorator-based injection
def inject(interface: Type[T]) -> Callable:
"""Decorator to inject dependency."""
def decorator(func: Callable) -> Callable:
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
# Get container from context
container = get_container()
# Resolve dependency
instance = container.resolve(interface)
# Call function with injected instance
return func(instance, *args, **kwargs)
return wrapper
return decorator
# Usage
@inject(LoggerProtocol)
def process_order(order: Order, logger: LoggerProtocol):
"""Function with injected logger."""
logger.info(f"Processing order: {order.id}")
Lifecycle Management
from enum import Enum
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Any, Callable
class ServiceLifetime(Enum):
"""Service lifetime options."""
TRANSIENT = "transient" # New instance each time
SCOPED = "scoped" # One instance per scope
SINGLETON = "singleton" # One instance globally
@dataclass
class ServiceDescriptor:
"""Service registration descriptor."""
interface: Type
implementation: Type
lifetime: ServiceLifetime
class ServiceCollection:
"""Service registration collection."""
def __init__(self):
self._descriptors: list[ServiceDescriptor] = []
def add(
self,
interface: Type[T],
implementation: Type[T],
lifetime: ServiceLifetime = ServiceLifetime.TRANSIENT
) -> 'ServiceCollection':
"""Add service registration."""
self._descriptors.append(
ServiceDescriptor(interface, implementation, lifetime)
)
return self
def add_transient(
self,
interface: Type[T],
implementation: Type[T]
) -> 'ServiceCollection':
"""Add transient service."""
return self.add(interface, implementation, ServiceLifetime.TRANSIENT)
def add_scoped(
self,
interface: Type[T],
implementation: Type[T]
) -> 'ServiceCollection':
"""Add scoped service."""
return self.add(interface, implementation, ServiceLifetime.SCOPED)
def add_singleton(
self,
interface: Type[T],
implementation: Type[T]
) -> 'ServiceCollection':
"""Add singleton service."""
return self.add(interface, implementation, ServiceLifetime.SINGLETON)
class ServiceProvider:
"""Service provider for resolving services."""
def __init__(self, collection: ServiceCollection):
self.collection = collection
self._singletons: Dict[Type, Any] = {}
self._scoped: Dict[str, Dict[Type, Any]] = {}
self._current_scope_id = None
def create_scope(self) -> 'ServiceScope':
"""Create new service scope."""
scope_id = str(id(self))
self._scoped[scope_id] = {}
return ServiceScope(self, scope_id)
def resolve(self, interface: Type[T]) -> T:
"""Resolve service instance."""
descriptor = self._find_descriptor(interface)
if not descriptor:
raise DependencyNotFoundError(interface)
return self._create_instance(descriptor)
def _find_descriptor(self, interface: Type) -> ServiceDescriptor:
"""Find service descriptor."""
for desc in self._descriptors:
if desc.interface == interface:
return desc
return None
def _create_instance(self, descriptor: ServiceDescriptor) -> Any:
"""Create service instance based on lifetime."""
if descriptor.lifetime == ServiceLifetime.SINGLETON:
return self._get_singleton(descriptor)
elif descriptor.lifetime == ServiceLifetime.SCOPED:
return self._get_scoped(descriptor)
else: # TRANSIENT
return self._create_impl(descriptor.implementation)
def _get_singleton(self, descriptor: ServiceDescriptor) -> Any:
"""Get or create singleton."""
if descriptor.interface not in self._singletons:
self._singletons[descriptor.interface] = (
self._create_impl(descriptor.implementation)
)
return self._singletons[descriptor.interface]
def _get_scoped(self, descriptor: ServiceDescriptor) -> Any:
"""Get or create scoped instance."""
if self._current_scope_id is None:
raise NoActiveScopeError()
scope = self._scoped[self._current_scope_id]
if descriptor.interface not in scope:
scope[descriptor.interface] = (
self._create_impl(descriptor.implementation)
)
return scope[descriptor.interface]
def _create_impl(self, implementation: Type) -> Any:
"""Create implementation instance."""
# Get constructor
constructor = implementation.__init__
# Get parameter types
import inspect
sig = inspect.signature(constructor)
# Resolve dependencies
args = []
for param_name, param in sig.parameters.items():
if param_name == 'self':
continue
if param.annotation != param.empty:
instance = self.resolve(param.annotation)
args.append(instance)
elif param.default == param.empty:
raise MissingDependencyError(param_name)
return constructor(*args)
Best Practices
Dependency Injection Best Practices:
1. Use constructor injection
Most common pattern
Makes dependencies explicit
2. Program to interfaces
Define contracts
Don't depend on implementations
3. Use appropriate lifetime
Singleton for stateless services
Scoped for user-specific
Transient for stateless operations
4. Avoid service locator
Don't use container as service locator
Makes dependencies implicit
5. Handle disposal
Implement IDisposable when needed
Clean up resources
6. Avoid circular dependencies
Refactor to break cycles
Use property injection
7. Use DI container
Don't roll your own in production
Use established frameworks
8. Test with mocks
Easy to substitute implementations
Improves testability
9. Configure at composition root
Configure once at startup
Keep composition simple
10. Consider lazy initialization
Defer expensive creation
Use lazy<T> when appropriate