I'm trying to generate a dict containing the names and the value of the non-None parameters current call. This very much feels like something that should be a built-in, but can't find anything that quite does it in the Python documentation.
For example, when
def foo(limit=None, offset=None, lower_bound=None, upper_bound=None):
# code to generate dict of non-`None` named arguments (see below)
... # other things happen later
is called with the parameters foo(limit=5, lower_bound=100), I need the following dict: {limit=5, lower_bound=100}.
Is there something that conveniently does that for me?
Potential Solutions
So far, I have looked into the following, all of which seem flawed:
Manually making lists (which has a downside of having more places to things to make changes if, for example, an argument has its name changed)
def foo(limit=None, offset=None, lower_bound=None, upper_bound=None):
keys = ('limit', 'offset', 'lower_bound', 'upper_bound')
values = (limit, offset, lower_bound, upper_bound)
magic_dict = {k: v for k, v in zip(keys, values) if v is not None}
locals() — link — which would need everything removed that shouldn't make it into the dictionary (i.e. the keys with the value of None). This also seems potentially error prone if variables definitions get added above the magic dictionary code, which would also need to be removed.
def foo(limit=None, offset=None, lower_bound=None, upper_bound=None):
magic_dict = {k: v for k, v in locals().items() if v is not None}
inspect's — link — signature and bind, which still requires would a list of the parameters
def foo(limit=None, offset=None, lower_bound=None, upper_bound=None):
sig = signature(foo)
sig_args = sig.bind(limit, offset, lower_bound, upper_bound).arguments
magic_dict = {k: v for k, v in sig_args.items() if v is not None}
Other thoughts included making a class to make getattr available
It feels like I'm missing something obvious — feedback would be appreciated!
Someone suggested
What is an elegant way to select all non-None elements from parameters and place them in a python dictionary?, whose responses are primarily "move to **kwargs". My initial reaction is that I would prefer to keep a specific list of arguments — is that bad logic by me? What is typical best practice with Python?
You can try using decorators:
def capture(func):
capture.kwds = None
def wrap(*args, **kwargs):
capture.kwds = kwargs
return func(*args, **kwargs)
return wrap
#capture
def foo(limit=None, offset=None, lower_bound=None, upper_bound=None):
return None
Now you can call:
>>> foo(limit=1, offset=2, lower_bound=3, upper_bound=4)
None
>>> capture.kwds
{'limit': 1, 'offset': 2, 'lower_bound': 3, 'upper_bound': 4}
You can also use the locals method, but copy the locals at the top of your function. At the end one can use the keys of the original locals and select only those in the return statement:
def foo(a=None, b=None, c=None):
original_locals = locals().copy()
d = 'test' #Test adding new variable which should not be returned
return {k:v for k,v in locals().items() if k in original_locals.keys() and v is not None}
foo(1)
>> {'a': 1}
foo(1, 2, 3)
>> {'a': 11, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}
Note that you have to copy the locals, otherwise this method will not work.
If you also want to add kwargs:
def func(a=None, b=None, c=None, **kwargs):
org_loc = locals().copy()
def check_kwargs(d):
if 'kwargs' in d.keys():
d.update(d['kwargs'])
del d['kwargs']
check_kwargs(org_loc)
d = 'test'
new_loc = locals()
check_kwargs(new_loc)
return {k:v for k,v in new_loc.items() if k in org_loc.keys() and v is not None}
Then:
func(1)
>> {'a':1}
func(1, test='test')
>> {'a': 1, 'test': 'test'}
Related
There's a common problem where I need to keep track of a bunch of collections in a dictionary. Let's say I want to keep track of which items I borrowed from my friends. The defaultdict class is quite useful to do this:
from collections import defaultdict
d = defaultdict(set)
d['Peter'].add('salt')
d['Eric'].add('car')
d['Eric'].add('jacket')
# defaultdict(<class 'set'>, {'Peter': {'salt'}, 'Eric': {'jacket', 'car'}})
This allows me to add items to the respective sets without worrying if any key is already in the set. Now if I return the salt to Peter. This means I owe him nothing and he can be removed from the dictionary. Doing this is slightly more cumbersome.
d['Peter'].remove('salt')
if not d['Peter']:
del(d['Peter'])
I know I could put this in some function, but for readability I would like a class that removes the key automatically if the corresponding set is empty. Is there some way to do this?
Edit
Okay I realize a pretty major problem with this idea when trying to solve it using inheritance and changing the index function. This is that that when calling d[index] the value is obviously returned already before calling .remove(something), which makes it impossible for the dictionary to know that it has been emptied. I'm guessing there's not really a way around using something different.
The problem with using a defaultdict to do what you want is that even accessing a key sets that key using the factory function. Consider:
from collections import defaultdict
d = defaultdict(set)
if d["Peter"]:
print("I owe something to Peter")
print(d)
# defaultdict(set, {'Peter': set()})
Also, the problem with creating a sub-class, as you've realized, the __getitem__() method is called before the set is ever emptied, so you'd have to call another function that checks if the set is empty and remove it.
A better idea might be to just not include keys with empty sets when you're creating the string representation.
class NewDefaultDict(defaultdict):
def __repr__(self):
return (f"NewDefaultDict({repr(self.default_factory)}, {{" +
", ".join(f"{repr(k)}: {repr(v)}" for k, v in self.items() if v) +
"})")
nd = NewDefaultDict(set)
nd["Peter"].add("salt")
nd["Paul"].add("pepper")
nd["Paul"].remove("pepper")
print(nd)
# NewDefaultDict(<class 'set'>, {'Peter': {'salt'}})
You would also need to redefine __contains__() to check if the value is empty, so that e.g. "Paul" in nd returns False:
def __contains__(self, key):
return defaultdict.__contains__(self, key) and self[key]
To make it compatible with for ... in nd constructs and dict-unpacking, you can redefine __iter__():
def __iter__(self):
for key in defaultdict.__iter__(self):
if self[key]: yield key
Then,
for k in nd:
print(k)
gives:
Peter
A dictionary comprehension might be useful.
from collections import defaultdict
d = defaultdict(set)
d['Peter'].add('salt')
d['Eric'].add('car')
d['Eric'].add('jacket')
d['Peter'].remove('salt')
d2 = {k: v for k, v in d.items() if len(v) > 0}
The d2 dictionary is now:
{'Eric': {'car', 'jacket'}}
Alternatively, using the fact that an empty set is considered false in Python.
d2 = {k: v for k, v in d.items() if v}
Defining a class to implement this logic, similar to the other answer, we can simply ignore keys/values where the value meets a criteria. A function is passed using the ignore parameter to define that criteria.
from collections import defaultdict
class default_ignore_dict(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, factory, ignore, *args, **kwargs):
defaultdict.__init__(self, factory, *args, **kwargs)
self.ignore = ignore
def __contains__(self, key):
return defaultdict.__contains__(self, key) and not self.ignore(self[key])
def items(self):
return ((k, v) for k, v in defaultdict.items(self) if not self.ignore(v))
def keys(self):
return (k for k, _ in self.items())
def values(self):
return (v for _, v in self.items())
Testing this:
>>> d = default_ignore_dict(set, lambda s: not s)
>>> d['Peter'].add('salt')
>>> d['Peter'].remove('salt')
>>> d['Eric'].add('car')
>>> d['Eric'].add('jacket')
>>>
>>> 'Peter' in d
False
>>> list(d.items())
[('Eric', {'car', 'jacket'})]
>>>
Is there a way to make a defaultdict also be the default for the defaultdict? (i.e. infinite-level recursive defaultdict?)
I want to be able to do:
x = defaultdict(...stuff...)
x[0][1][0]
{}
So, I can do x = defaultdict(defaultdict), but that's only a second level:
x[0]
{}
x[0][0]
KeyError: 0
There are recipes that can do this. But can it be done simply just using the normal defaultdict arguments?
Note this is asking how to do an infinite-level recursive defaultdict, so it's distinct to Python: defaultdict of defaultdict?, which was how to do a two-level defaultdict.
I'll probably just end up using the bunch pattern, but when I realized I didn't know how to do this, it got me interested.
The other answers here tell you how to create a defaultdict which contains "infinitely many" defaultdict, but they fail to address what I think may have been your initial need which was to simply have a two-depth defaultdict.
You may have been looking for:
defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(dict))
The reasons why you might prefer this construct are:
It is more explicit than the recursive solution, and therefore likely more understandable to the reader.
This enables the "leaf" of the defaultdict to be something other than a dictionary, e.g.,: defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(list)) or defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(set))
For an arbitrary number of levels:
def rec_dd():
return defaultdict(rec_dd)
>>> x = rec_dd()
>>> x['a']['b']['c']['d']
defaultdict(<function rec_dd at 0x7f0dcef81500>, {})
>>> print json.dumps(x)
{"a": {"b": {"c": {"d": {}}}}}
Of course you could also do this with a lambda, but I find lambdas to be less readable. In any case it would look like this:
rec_dd = lambda: defaultdict(rec_dd)
There is a nifty trick for doing that:
tree = lambda: defaultdict(tree)
Then you can create your x with x = tree().
Similar to BrenBarn's solution, but doesn't contain the name of the variable tree twice, so it works even after changes to the variable dictionary:
tree = (lambda f: f(f))(lambda a: (lambda: defaultdict(a(a))))
Then you can create each new x with x = tree().
For the def version, we can use function closure scope to protect the data structure from the flaw where existing instances stop working if the tree name is rebound. It looks like this:
from collections import defaultdict
def tree():
def the_tree():
return defaultdict(the_tree)
return the_tree()
I would also propose more OOP-styled implementation, which supports infinite nesting as well as properly formatted repr.
class NestedDefaultDict(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super(NestedDefaultDict, self).__init__(NestedDefaultDict, *args, **kwargs)
def __repr__(self):
return repr(dict(self))
Usage:
my_dict = NestedDefaultDict()
my_dict['a']['b'] = 1
my_dict['a']['c']['d'] = 2
my_dict['b']
print(my_dict) # {'a': {'b': 1, 'c': {'d': 2}}, 'b': {}}
I based this of Andrew's answer here.
If you are looking to load data from a json or an existing dict into the nester defaultdict see this example:
def nested_defaultdict(existing=None, **kwargs):
if existing is None:
existing = {}
if not isinstance(existing, dict):
return existing
existing = {key: nested_defaultdict(val) for key, val in existing.items()}
return defaultdict(nested_defaultdict, existing, **kwargs)
https://gist.github.com/nucklehead/2d29628bb49115f3c30e78c071207775
Here is a function for an arbitrary base defaultdict for an arbitrary depth of nesting.
(cross posting from Can't pickle defaultdict)
def wrap_defaultdict(instance, times=1):
"""Wrap an instance an arbitrary number of `times` to create nested defaultdict.
Parameters
----------
instance - list, dict, int, collections.Counter
times - the number of nested keys above `instance`; if `times=3` dd[one][two][three] = instance
Notes
-----
using `x.copy` allows pickling (loading to ipyparallel cluster or pkldump)
- thanks https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16439301/cant-pickle-defaultdict
"""
from collections import defaultdict
def _dd(x):
return defaultdict(x.copy)
dd = defaultdict(instance)
for i in range(times-1):
dd = _dd(dd)
return dd
Based on Chris W answer, however, to address the type annotation concern, you could make it a factory function that defines the detailed types. For example this is the final solution to my problem when I was researching this question:
def frequency_map_factory() -> dict[str, dict[str, int]]:
"""
Provides a recorder of: per X:str, frequency of Y:str occurrences.
"""
return defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(int))
here is a recursive function to convert a recursive default dict to a normal dict
def defdict_to_dict(defdict, finaldict):
# pass in an empty dict for finaldict
for k, v in defdict.items():
if isinstance(v, defaultdict):
# new level created and that is the new value
finaldict[k] = defdict_to_dict(v, {})
else:
finaldict[k] = v
return finaldict
defdict_to_dict(my_rec_default_dict, {})
#nucklehead's response can be extended to handle arrays in JSON as well:
def nested_dict(existing=None, **kwargs):
if existing is None:
existing = defaultdict()
if isinstance(existing, list):
existing = [nested_dict(val) for val in existing]
if not isinstance(existing, dict):
return existing
existing = {key: nested_dict(val) for key, val in existing.items()}
return defaultdict(nested_dict, existing, **kwargs)
Here's a solution similar to #Stanislav's answer that works with multiprocessing and also allows for termination of the nesting:
from collections import defaultdict
from functools import partial
class NestedDD(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, n, *args, **kwargs):
self.n = n
factory = partial(build_nested_dd, n=n - 1) if n > 1 else int
super().__init__(factory, *args, **kwargs)
def __repr__(self):
return repr(dict(self))
def build_nested_dd(n):
return NestedDD(n)
Is there a way to make a defaultdict also be the default for the defaultdict? (i.e. infinite-level recursive defaultdict?)
I want to be able to do:
x = defaultdict(...stuff...)
x[0][1][0]
{}
So, I can do x = defaultdict(defaultdict), but that's only a second level:
x[0]
{}
x[0][0]
KeyError: 0
There are recipes that can do this. But can it be done simply just using the normal defaultdict arguments?
Note this is asking how to do an infinite-level recursive defaultdict, so it's distinct to Python: defaultdict of defaultdict?, which was how to do a two-level defaultdict.
I'll probably just end up using the bunch pattern, but when I realized I didn't know how to do this, it got me interested.
The other answers here tell you how to create a defaultdict which contains "infinitely many" defaultdict, but they fail to address what I think may have been your initial need which was to simply have a two-depth defaultdict.
You may have been looking for:
defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(dict))
The reasons why you might prefer this construct are:
It is more explicit than the recursive solution, and therefore likely more understandable to the reader.
This enables the "leaf" of the defaultdict to be something other than a dictionary, e.g.,: defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(list)) or defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(set))
For an arbitrary number of levels:
def rec_dd():
return defaultdict(rec_dd)
>>> x = rec_dd()
>>> x['a']['b']['c']['d']
defaultdict(<function rec_dd at 0x7f0dcef81500>, {})
>>> print json.dumps(x)
{"a": {"b": {"c": {"d": {}}}}}
Of course you could also do this with a lambda, but I find lambdas to be less readable. In any case it would look like this:
rec_dd = lambda: defaultdict(rec_dd)
There is a nifty trick for doing that:
tree = lambda: defaultdict(tree)
Then you can create your x with x = tree().
Similar to BrenBarn's solution, but doesn't contain the name of the variable tree twice, so it works even after changes to the variable dictionary:
tree = (lambda f: f(f))(lambda a: (lambda: defaultdict(a(a))))
Then you can create each new x with x = tree().
For the def version, we can use function closure scope to protect the data structure from the flaw where existing instances stop working if the tree name is rebound. It looks like this:
from collections import defaultdict
def tree():
def the_tree():
return defaultdict(the_tree)
return the_tree()
I would also propose more OOP-styled implementation, which supports infinite nesting as well as properly formatted repr.
class NestedDefaultDict(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super(NestedDefaultDict, self).__init__(NestedDefaultDict, *args, **kwargs)
def __repr__(self):
return repr(dict(self))
Usage:
my_dict = NestedDefaultDict()
my_dict['a']['b'] = 1
my_dict['a']['c']['d'] = 2
my_dict['b']
print(my_dict) # {'a': {'b': 1, 'c': {'d': 2}}, 'b': {}}
I based this of Andrew's answer here.
If you are looking to load data from a json or an existing dict into the nester defaultdict see this example:
def nested_defaultdict(existing=None, **kwargs):
if existing is None:
existing = {}
if not isinstance(existing, dict):
return existing
existing = {key: nested_defaultdict(val) for key, val in existing.items()}
return defaultdict(nested_defaultdict, existing, **kwargs)
https://gist.github.com/nucklehead/2d29628bb49115f3c30e78c071207775
Here is a function for an arbitrary base defaultdict for an arbitrary depth of nesting.
(cross posting from Can't pickle defaultdict)
def wrap_defaultdict(instance, times=1):
"""Wrap an instance an arbitrary number of `times` to create nested defaultdict.
Parameters
----------
instance - list, dict, int, collections.Counter
times - the number of nested keys above `instance`; if `times=3` dd[one][two][three] = instance
Notes
-----
using `x.copy` allows pickling (loading to ipyparallel cluster or pkldump)
- thanks https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16439301/cant-pickle-defaultdict
"""
from collections import defaultdict
def _dd(x):
return defaultdict(x.copy)
dd = defaultdict(instance)
for i in range(times-1):
dd = _dd(dd)
return dd
Based on Chris W answer, however, to address the type annotation concern, you could make it a factory function that defines the detailed types. For example this is the final solution to my problem when I was researching this question:
def frequency_map_factory() -> dict[str, dict[str, int]]:
"""
Provides a recorder of: per X:str, frequency of Y:str occurrences.
"""
return defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(int))
here is a recursive function to convert a recursive default dict to a normal dict
def defdict_to_dict(defdict, finaldict):
# pass in an empty dict for finaldict
for k, v in defdict.items():
if isinstance(v, defaultdict):
# new level created and that is the new value
finaldict[k] = defdict_to_dict(v, {})
else:
finaldict[k] = v
return finaldict
defdict_to_dict(my_rec_default_dict, {})
#nucklehead's response can be extended to handle arrays in JSON as well:
def nested_dict(existing=None, **kwargs):
if existing is None:
existing = defaultdict()
if isinstance(existing, list):
existing = [nested_dict(val) for val in existing]
if not isinstance(existing, dict):
return existing
existing = {key: nested_dict(val) for key, val in existing.items()}
return defaultdict(nested_dict, existing, **kwargs)
Here's a solution similar to #Stanislav's answer that works with multiprocessing and also allows for termination of the nesting:
from collections import defaultdict
from functools import partial
class NestedDD(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, n, *args, **kwargs):
self.n = n
factory = partial(build_nested_dd, n=n - 1) if n > 1 else int
super().__init__(factory, *args, **kwargs)
def __repr__(self):
return repr(dict(self))
def build_nested_dd(n):
return NestedDD(n)
Is there a way to make a defaultdict also be the default for the defaultdict? (i.e. infinite-level recursive defaultdict?)
I want to be able to do:
x = defaultdict(...stuff...)
x[0][1][0]
{}
So, I can do x = defaultdict(defaultdict), but that's only a second level:
x[0]
{}
x[0][0]
KeyError: 0
There are recipes that can do this. But can it be done simply just using the normal defaultdict arguments?
Note this is asking how to do an infinite-level recursive defaultdict, so it's distinct to Python: defaultdict of defaultdict?, which was how to do a two-level defaultdict.
I'll probably just end up using the bunch pattern, but when I realized I didn't know how to do this, it got me interested.
The other answers here tell you how to create a defaultdict which contains "infinitely many" defaultdict, but they fail to address what I think may have been your initial need which was to simply have a two-depth defaultdict.
You may have been looking for:
defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(dict))
The reasons why you might prefer this construct are:
It is more explicit than the recursive solution, and therefore likely more understandable to the reader.
This enables the "leaf" of the defaultdict to be something other than a dictionary, e.g.,: defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(list)) or defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(set))
For an arbitrary number of levels:
def rec_dd():
return defaultdict(rec_dd)
>>> x = rec_dd()
>>> x['a']['b']['c']['d']
defaultdict(<function rec_dd at 0x7f0dcef81500>, {})
>>> print json.dumps(x)
{"a": {"b": {"c": {"d": {}}}}}
Of course you could also do this with a lambda, but I find lambdas to be less readable. In any case it would look like this:
rec_dd = lambda: defaultdict(rec_dd)
There is a nifty trick for doing that:
tree = lambda: defaultdict(tree)
Then you can create your x with x = tree().
Similar to BrenBarn's solution, but doesn't contain the name of the variable tree twice, so it works even after changes to the variable dictionary:
tree = (lambda f: f(f))(lambda a: (lambda: defaultdict(a(a))))
Then you can create each new x with x = tree().
For the def version, we can use function closure scope to protect the data structure from the flaw where existing instances stop working if the tree name is rebound. It looks like this:
from collections import defaultdict
def tree():
def the_tree():
return defaultdict(the_tree)
return the_tree()
I would also propose more OOP-styled implementation, which supports infinite nesting as well as properly formatted repr.
class NestedDefaultDict(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super(NestedDefaultDict, self).__init__(NestedDefaultDict, *args, **kwargs)
def __repr__(self):
return repr(dict(self))
Usage:
my_dict = NestedDefaultDict()
my_dict['a']['b'] = 1
my_dict['a']['c']['d'] = 2
my_dict['b']
print(my_dict) # {'a': {'b': 1, 'c': {'d': 2}}, 'b': {}}
I based this of Andrew's answer here.
If you are looking to load data from a json or an existing dict into the nester defaultdict see this example:
def nested_defaultdict(existing=None, **kwargs):
if existing is None:
existing = {}
if not isinstance(existing, dict):
return existing
existing = {key: nested_defaultdict(val) for key, val in existing.items()}
return defaultdict(nested_defaultdict, existing, **kwargs)
https://gist.github.com/nucklehead/2d29628bb49115f3c30e78c071207775
Here is a function for an arbitrary base defaultdict for an arbitrary depth of nesting.
(cross posting from Can't pickle defaultdict)
def wrap_defaultdict(instance, times=1):
"""Wrap an instance an arbitrary number of `times` to create nested defaultdict.
Parameters
----------
instance - list, dict, int, collections.Counter
times - the number of nested keys above `instance`; if `times=3` dd[one][two][three] = instance
Notes
-----
using `x.copy` allows pickling (loading to ipyparallel cluster or pkldump)
- thanks https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16439301/cant-pickle-defaultdict
"""
from collections import defaultdict
def _dd(x):
return defaultdict(x.copy)
dd = defaultdict(instance)
for i in range(times-1):
dd = _dd(dd)
return dd
Based on Chris W answer, however, to address the type annotation concern, you could make it a factory function that defines the detailed types. For example this is the final solution to my problem when I was researching this question:
def frequency_map_factory() -> dict[str, dict[str, int]]:
"""
Provides a recorder of: per X:str, frequency of Y:str occurrences.
"""
return defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(int))
here is a recursive function to convert a recursive default dict to a normal dict
def defdict_to_dict(defdict, finaldict):
# pass in an empty dict for finaldict
for k, v in defdict.items():
if isinstance(v, defaultdict):
# new level created and that is the new value
finaldict[k] = defdict_to_dict(v, {})
else:
finaldict[k] = v
return finaldict
defdict_to_dict(my_rec_default_dict, {})
#nucklehead's response can be extended to handle arrays in JSON as well:
def nested_dict(existing=None, **kwargs):
if existing is None:
existing = defaultdict()
if isinstance(existing, list):
existing = [nested_dict(val) for val in existing]
if not isinstance(existing, dict):
return existing
existing = {key: nested_dict(val) for key, val in existing.items()}
return defaultdict(nested_dict, existing, **kwargs)
Here's a solution similar to #Stanislav's answer that works with multiprocessing and also allows for termination of the nesting:
from collections import defaultdict
from functools import partial
class NestedDD(defaultdict):
def __init__(self, n, *args, **kwargs):
self.n = n
factory = partial(build_nested_dd, n=n - 1) if n > 1 else int
super().__init__(factory, *args, **kwargs)
def __repr__(self):
return repr(dict(self))
def build_nested_dd(n):
return NestedDD(n)
I've been learning meta-programming in Ruby, and have found it quite useful. I'm sure I can do the same in Python.
E.g.: how would I rewrite this function given this function in a concise and general way using meta-programming?
def foo(bar=None, baz=None, qux=None, haz=None):
txt = {}
if bar:
txt.update({'bar': bar})
if baz:
txt.update({'baz': baz})
if qux:
txt.update({'qux': qux})
if haz:
txt.update({'haz': haz})
return txt
(this is obviously over-simplified, in practice one might perform different tasks based on value-set of individual keys)
You could use the **kwargs syntax:
def foo(**kwargs):
txt = {}
for k, v in kwargs.items():
if v:
txt[k] = v
return txt
Or, if you're short on ink:
def foo(**kwargs):
return dict(((k,v) for k, v in kwargs.items() if v))
As suggested by Clement Bellot:
If you want to be sure those args are in your expected set, you could have an ALLOWED_PARAMS = ('bar','baz','qux','haz') constant and replace if v with if v and k in ALLOWED_PARAMS.
As suggested by DSM:
If you're running Python 2.7+, you can use a dict comprehension.
This version also offers an alternate take on the "Allowed variables" problem:
def foo(bar=None, baz=None, qux=None, haz=None):
return {k:v for k,v in locals().items() if v}
Let's say you actually wanted to call functions depending on those parameters being there, you could do:
KWARGS_TO_FUNCTIONS = {
'bar':fn_bar,
'baz':fn_baz,
'qux':fn_qux,
'haz':fn_haz,
}
def foo(**kwargs):
for k, v in kwargs.items():
if v:
try:
KWARGS_TO_FUNCTIONS[k](v)
except KeyError:
pass # We didn't want that kwarg.
Now, all in all, I'm not totally sure that's really 'meta'.
Thomas has given a few implementations using **kwargs.
I don't think you need the ifs when using **kwargs. In the original code, they are necessary to test whether the parameter was omitted or not. When using **kwargs, the dictionary will contain exactly the given parameters, so all we need is
def foo(**kwargs):
return kwargs
This implementation is not even needed – you can use the dict() constructor instead:
>>> dict(bar=1, baz=2, qux=3, haz=4)
{'qux': 3, 'haz': 4, 'baz': 2, 'bar': 1}