One of the views that I decided to take in my recent Python teaching is that named tuples and functions are preferable to class-based data structures.

Python's object-orientated (OO) code is slightly strange anyway since it is retrospectively applied to the original language and most programmers find things like the self reference confusing compared to OO idioms in languages like Ruby or Java.

On top of this Python's dynamic nature means that objects are actually "open" (i.e. can take new attributes at runtime) and have few strong encapsulation guarantees. Most of which is going to be surprising to most OO-programmers who would expect the type to be binding.

Named-tuples on the other hand are immutable so their values cannot be changed and they cannot be expanded or reduced by adding or removing attributes. Their behaviour is much more defined while retaining syntax-sugar access to the attributes themselves.

Functions that operate on tuples and return tuples have some nice properties in terms of working with code. Firstly you know that there are no sequencing issues. A function that takes a tuple as an argument cannot change it so any other function is free to consume it again as an argument.

In addition you know that you are free to consume the tuple value generated by a function. As the value cannot be changed it is safe to pass it around the codebase.

I think the question should be: where are classes appropriate in ways that tuples are not?

The most common valid use of classes and inheritance is to provide a structure in a library where you expect other programmers to supply appropriate behaviour. Using classes you can simply allow the relevant methods to be implemented in the inheriting implementation. A number of Python web frameworks use this Template pattern to allow the behaviour of handlers to be defined.

Even then this is not the definitive solution. Frameworks such as Flask, use decorators instead which fits with the functional approach.

So in general I think it is simpler and easier to maintain programs that consists of functions taking and generating immutable data structures like tuples. Using Python's object-orientation features should be considered advanced techniques and used only when necessary.