What is an instance attribute?

An instance attribute is a variable that belongs to a specific instance of a class, rather than the class itself. In Python, instance attributes are usually defined inside the class's methods and are used to store instance-specific data. Each object created from the class can have different values for these attributes, which is why they're called instance attributes.

Let's create an example to help understand instance attributes better. We'll define a `Car` class, with the instance attribute `color`. Each instance of the `Car` class will have its own `color` attribute. ```python class Car: def __init__(self, color): self.color = color car1 = Car("red") car2 = Car("blue") ``` In this example, `car1` and `car2` are instances of the `Car` class, each with their own `color` attribute. The value of the `color` attribute can change independently for each instance, as shown below: ```python print(car1.color) # Output: "red" print(car2.color) # Output: "blue" ``` The instance attribute `color` can be accessed and modified for each instance: ```python car1.color = "green" print(car1.color) # Output: "green" ``` So, an instance attribute is a variable specific to each instance of a class, allowing them to store and maintain their own data independently.