I want to iterate over a list, and then pass that variable to another Python file, witch writes that text.
forloop.py:
class Main:
def list():
list = ["a","b","c","d","e","f","g"]
for i in list:
print_this_variable = i
That iterates over the list, now i want to print the results in a separate file.
print.py:
from forloop import *
print(print_this_variable)
Thanks for the help.
You can't, the way you've configured things. The variable print_this_variable is local to list and won't be available outside of that method.
Here's one way to structure things (there are a variety of other ways, but your question isn't very clear about what you're actually trying to accomplish):
First, note that list is the name of the Python list data type -- you shouldn't use it as a name for functions or variables. Second, you shouldn't name variables the same as functions, because this will mask the function name and will probably bite you at some point.
So, in forloop.py, let's do this:
class Main:
def example_function(self):
data = ["a","b","c","d","e","f","g"]
for i in data:
self.print_this_variable = i
That makes print_this_variable an instance variable for Main objects.
In print.py, we could write:
import forloop
# We need to create a Main object
m = forloop.Main()
# The `print_this_variable` attribute isn't available until
# after we # call the `example_function` method.
m.example_function()
# Now we can ask for the instance attribute
print(m.print_this_variable)
Related
Can you run a for loop over the names of multiple subsets?
For instance, I now have subsets dfVC1 up until dfVC20 and I would like to do something like:
for x in range(20):
print(dfVC[x])
I get this doesn't work... but wonder if there is a way to do this.
I'm going to assume your 'subsets' in this case are variables, named dbVC0, dbVC1, etc. Then, your problem is that you want to print all of them by number, but since they're variables, you can't.
One way to solve this would be to change how the 'subsets' are declared. Instead of
dfVC0 = ...
dfVC1 = ...
you could make one dfVC variable that's a dict, that holds all the others at their proper indices.
dfVC = {}
dfVC[0] = ...
dfVC[1] = ...
which would then allow you to access the various dbVC subsets in the way you're currently trying to.
But changing such a large part of the program isn't always possible. What you might be able to do instead is to figure out which object the dfVCs are attached to, and grab them by string.
If they're in the local namespace (i.e. were declared in the same function as you're currently executing in), you can call the built-in locals() to get a dict that you can then try to find your key in:
for x in range(20):
sname = f'dfVC{x}'
print(locals()[sname])
globals() can be used similarly, if your 'subsets' are in the global scope (i.e. declared outside of the current function).
And if your dfVC variables are attached to a class or module (or something else that behaves like a namespace), you can retrieve them using the built-in getattr() function:
for x in range(20):
sname = f'dfVC{x}'
print(getattr(self, sname)) # replace self with whichever object has the dbVC attached to it
I am trying to make a function in python that creates dictionaries with custom names. The code I am using so far looks like this:
def PCreate(P):
P = {}
print('Blank Party Created')
The problem that I am having is that whenever I use the function, no matter what I put down for P, for example:
PCreate('Party1')
It creates a blank dictionary with the name 'P'. is there a way to make it create a dictionary with the name Party1?
It looks like you're confused with how variable names, and strings, and objects interact withing Python. When you have the function PCreate(P) you are saying that when the function is called, it will take on parameter, and within the function that parameter will be called P. This means that if you have the function,
def func(P):
print(P)
and call it three times,
func('two words')
func(4)
func([3, 'word'])
you will get the output:
two words
4
[3, 'word']
This is because the parameter P has no explicit type in Python. So, when you called your function with the argument 'Party1' the values looked like this
def PCreate(P):
# P is currently 'Party1'
P = {}
# P no longer is Party1, and now references {}
...
So you didn't assign {} to the variable with the name Party1, you overwrote the local variable P with a new empty dict.
I think you probably do not want to be doing what you're doing, but see this answer for more information on setting a variable using a string variable as its name.
What I recommend you do is create a function that returns your custom dictionaries, and assign the returned value to your custom name.
def new_custom_dict():
my_dict = {} # Pretend this is somehow custom
return my_dict
Party1 = my_custom_dict()
If you need the reference key to your new dictionary to be stored in a string, then you're in luck because that's what dictionaries are for!
You can first create a dictionary that will be used to store your custom named dictionaries:
dictionaries = {}
and when you want to add a new dictionary with a custom name, call this function
def insert_new_dictionary(dictionaries, dictionary_name):
dictionaries[dictionary_name] = {}
e.g.
insert_new_dictionary(dictionaries, 'Party1')
insert_new_dictionary(dictionaries, 'Party2')
would leave you with two dictionaries accessible by dictionaries['Party1'] and dictionaries['Party2']
I've created a function which can take a parameter which defines another call to manipulate a list. For example if I call sliprotor(Rotorid1, 1) directly, then the Rotorid1 list is manipulated as I want. Function below:
def sliprotor(rotorid,offset_qty):
for movers in range(26,0,-1):
rotorid[movers-1+offset_qty]=rotorid[movers-1]
for movers_refill in range(offset_qty):
rotorid[movers_refill]=rotorid[movers_refill+26]
However, if I try to call this 'indirectly' by building the list name and then executing it, 'rotorid' is not translated to the value, as it is when called directly.
The way I am doing this is
def set_curr_rotor(XX):
rotorid = "Rotorid"+str(XX)
return rotorid
rid1 = input("First rotor slip : ")
if(rid1):
sliprotor(set_curr_rotor(rid1),1)
So the 'indirect' call doesn't pass the value created by the set_curr_rotor function into the sliprotor function. The direct call does use the passed in value.
If I look in debug, you can see that it is directly calling rotorid[] as the list, not Rotorid1 or other Rotoridx and hence I get an index error.
....
File "", line 3, in sliprotor
rotorid[movers-1+offset_qty]=rotorid[movers-1]
IndexError: string index out of range
I could restructure the way I have the code, but I would prefer not to. Is there some method / scope issue I am missing? Is this just an intrinsic attribute of Python? I'm very new to Python so I'm just doing an exercise to model an Enigma machine.
Any help appreciated.
Ed
I'll assume that you have defined your rotors already, something like this:
Rotorid1 = list('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
Rotorid2 = list('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
And now you're reluctant to change this, because ... reasons.
That's fine. But you're still wrong. What you need to do is to create a larger data structure. You can do it like this:
Rotors = [ Rotorid1, Rotorid2, ... ]
Now you have a list-of-lists. The Rotors variable now contains all the various Rotorid variables. (Well, it references them. But that'll do.)
Instead of passing in the variable name as a handle to the rotor, you can simply pass in an index number:
def set_rotor(id):
global Current_rotor
Current_rotor = id
def slip_rotor(amount):
global Current_rotor
global Rotors
rotor = Rotors[Current_rotor]
for movers in range(26,0,-1):
rotor[movers-1+offset_qty]=rotor[movers-1]
# etc...
Also, be sure an look up slicings in Python - you can do a lot by manipulating sublists and substrings using slices.
I have been told that using exec is a Very Bad Thing.
However, I'm new to python and trying to figure out how to dynamically create a bunch of global variables (I'm aware that this is also supposed to be a Bad Thing, but let's burn one bridge at a time, shall we?).
What this is doing: get a list of the current variables that need to be created (currently sitting in a CSV), get the unique ID's within that list, then create the necessary objects by appending the ID to the name and reading the content of another CSV into it.
import pandas as pd
def importtest():
ilist = pd.read_csv('Z:/fakepath/ID.csv')
for i in range(0, len(ilist['ID'].unique())):
tempID = ilist['ID'].unique()[i]
exec("variable%s = pd.read_csv('%s')" % (
str(tempID), 'Z:/fakepath/'+str(tempID)+'.csv'), globals())
i = i + 1
Is there another/better way to dynamically create/update the variables I need so they show up in the global scope?
String keys in globals() dictionary correspond to variable names, so, you don't need to use exec, you can write variable to globals hash directly:
globals()["variable" + str(tempID)] = pd.read_csv('Z:/fakepath/'+str(tempID)+'.csv')
I know this must be a trivial question, but I've tried many different ways, and searched quie a bit for a solution, but how do I create and reference subfunctions in the current module?
For example, I am writing a program to parse through a text file, and for each of the 300 different names in it, I want to assign to a category.
There are 300 of these, and I have a list of these structured to create a dict, so of the form lookup[key]=value (bonus question; any more efficient or sensible way to do this than a massive dict?).
I would like to keep all of this in the same module, but with the functions (dict initialisation, etc) at the
end of the file, so I dont have to scroll down 300 lines to see the code, i.e. as laid out as in the example below.
When I run it as below, I get the error 'initlookups is not defined'. When I structure is so that it is initialisation, then function definition, then function use, no problem.
I'm sure there must be an obvious way to initialise the functions and associated dict without keeping the code inline, but have tried quite a few so far without success. I can put it in an external module and import this, but would prefer not to for simplicity.
What should I be doing in terms of module structure? Is there any better way than using a dict to store this lookup table (It is 300 unique text keys mapping on to approx 10 categories?
Thanks,
Brendan
import ..... (initialisation code,etc )
initLookups() # **Should create the dict - How should this be referenced?**
print getlookup(KEY) # **How should this be referenced?**
def initLookups():
global lookup
lookup={}
lookup["A"]="AA"
lookup["B"]="BB"
(etc etc etc....)
def getlookup(value)
if name in lookup.keys():
getlookup=lookup[name]
else:
getlookup=""
return getlookup
A function needs to be defined before it can be called. If you want to have the code that needs to be executed at the top of the file, just define a main function and call it from the bottom:
import sys
def main(args):
pass
# All your other function definitions here
if __name__ == '__main__':
exit(main(sys.argv[1:]))
This way, whatever you reference in main will have been parsed and is hence known already. The reason for testing __name__ is that in this way the main method will only be run when the script is executed directly, not when it is imported by another file.
Side note: a dict with 300 keys is by no means massive, but you may want to either move the code that fills the dict to a separate module, or (perhaps more fancy) store the key/value pairs in a format like JSON and load it when the program starts.
Here's a more pythonic ways to do this. There aren't a lot of choices, BTW.
A function must be defined before it can be used. Period.
However, you don't have to strictly order all functions for the compiler's benefit. You merely have to put your execution of the functions last.
import # (initialisation code,etc )
def initLookups(): # Definitions must come before actual use
lookup={}
lookup["A"]="AA"
lookup["B"]="BB"
(etc etc etc....)
return lookup
# Any functions initLookups uses, can be define here.
# As long as they're findable in the same module.
if __name__ == "__main__": # Use comes last
lookup= initLookups()
print lookup.get("Key","")
Note that you don't need the getlookup function, it's a built-in feature of a dict, named get.
Also, "initialisation code" is suspicious. An import should not "do" anything. It should define functions and classes, but not actually provide any executable code. In the long run, executable code that is processed by an import can become a maintenance nightmare.
The most notable exception is a module-level Singleton object that gets created by default. Even then, be sure that the mystery object which makes a module work is clearly identified in the documentation.
If your lookup dict is unchanging, the simplest way is to just make it a module scope variable. ie:
lookup = {
'A' : 'AA',
'B' : 'BB',
...
}
If you may need to make changes, and later re-initialise it, you can do this in an initialisation function:
def initLookups():
global lookup
lookup = {
'A' : 'AA',
'B' : 'BB',
...
}
(Alternatively, lookup.update({'A':'AA', ...}) to change the dict in-place, affecting all callers with access to the old binding.)
However, if you've got these lookups in some standard format, it may be simpler simply to load it from a file and create the dictionary from that.
You can arrange your functions as you wish. The only rule about ordering is that the accessed variables must exist at the time the function is called - it's fine if the function has references to variables in the body that don't exist yet, so long as nothing actually tries to use that function. ie:
def foo():
print greeting, "World" # Note that greeting is not yet defined when foo() is created
greeting = "Hello"
foo() # Prints "Hello World"
But:
def foo():
print greeting, "World"
foo() # Gives an error - greeting not yet defined.
greeting = "Hello"
One further thing to note: your getlookup function is very inefficient. Using "if name in lookup.keys()" is actually getting a list of the keys from the dict, and then iterating over this list to find the item. This loses all the performance benefit the dict gives. Instead, "if name in lookup" would avoid this, or even better, use the fact that .get can be given a default to return if the key is not in the dictionary:
def getlookup(name)
return lookup.get(name, "")
I think that keeping the names in a flat text file, and loading them at runtime would be a good alternative. I try to stick to the lowest level of complexity possible with my data, starting with plain text and working up to a RDMS (I lifted this idea from The Pragmatic Programmer).
Dictionaries are very efficient in python. It's essentially what the whole language is built on. 300 items is well within the bounds of sane dict usage.
names.txt:
A = AAA
B = BBB
C = CCC
getname.py:
import sys
FILENAME = "names.txt"
def main(key):
pairs = (line.split("=") for line in open(FILENAME))
names = dict((x.strip(), y.strip()) for x,y in pairs)
return names.get(key, "Not found")
if __name__ == "__main__":
print main(sys.argv[-1])
If you really want to keep it all in one module for some reason, you could just stick a string at the top of the module. I think that a big swath of text is less distracting than a huge mess of dict initialization code (and easier to edit later):
import sys
LINES = """
A = AAA
B = BBB
C = CCC
D = DDD
E = EEE""".strip().splitlines()
PAIRS = (line.split("=") for line in LINES)
NAMES = dict((x.strip(), y.strip()) for x,y in PAIRS)
def main(key):
return NAMES.get(key, "Not found")
if __name__ == "__main__":
print main(sys.argv[-1])