In python the default is that things that look like attributes/properties REALLY are direct access. If you later need to shim them out into a function you use the @property decorator (and foo.setter if you need read/write)

    class Blah(object):
      foo = 2 # A normal property. Direct access

      @property
      def bar(self):
        return self.some_lookup_method()
    
      @bar.setter
      def bar(self, value):
        self.set_the_bar(value)