This question already has answers here:
How can I get the source code of a Python function?
(13 answers)
Closed 4 years ago.
I recently asked a question with title "python find the type of a function" and got very helpful answers. Here is a related question.
Suppose I import *.py files written by me, and these imports result in f being one of the functions defined by me. Now I write to my python interpreter x = f. Later, I want to see the full definition of f, preferably with comments still in place, knowing only x. Is this possible? Does python remember which file the definition was imported from, which is, of course, not enough to give the full definition of f, unless one can find the actual relevant definition?
The built in help(object) will give you the correct documentation if you alias k to some function you commented - same for inspect.getsource(k) - they know which function is ment by your variable name alias k at this time.
See:
the help() built in
inspect.getsource(k)
(taken from here)
Example:
# reusing this code - created it for some other question today
class well_documented_example_class(object):
"""Totally well documented class"""
def parse(self, message):
"""This method does coool things with your 'message'
'message' : a string with text in it to be parsed"""
self.data = [x.strip() for x in message.split(' ')]
return self.data
# alias for `parse()`:
k = well_documented_example_class.parse
help(k)
Prints:
Help on function parse in module __main__:
parse(self, message)
This method does coool things with your 'message'
'message' : a string with text in it to be parsed
Same goes for inspect.getsource(k):
# from https://stackoverflow.com/a/52333691/7505395
import inspect
print(inspect.getsource(k))
prints:
def parse(self, message):
"""This method does coool things with your 'message'
'message' : a string with text in it to be parsed"""
self.data = [x.strip() for x in message.split(' ')]
return self.data
You should think of the way Python uses variables. You have objects (can be classes, functions, lists, scalars or whatelse) and variables that only hold references to those objects.
That explains why when multiple variables point to the same mutable object, if you change it through one of those variables, the change in visible in all other ones.
This is the same thing here. The function object manages all its attributes: its docstring, its code, and its source (if it has: C function show no source). Assigning the function to a new variable does not hide the object behind anything: you still access the original object.
Things would go differently with decorators, because the decorator creates a new object, and the original object is only available to the decorated one.
Related
I am trying to write a testing program for a python program that takes data, does calculations on it, then puts the output in a class instance object. This object contains several other objects, each with their own attributes. I'm trying to access all the attributes and sub-attributes dynamically with a one size fits all solution, corresponding to elements in a dictionary I wrote to cycle through and get all those attributes for printing onto a test output file.
Edit: this may not be clear from the above but I have a list of the attributes I want, so using something to actually get those attributes is not a problem, although I'm aware python has methods that accomplish this. What I need to do is to be able to get all of those attributes with the same function call, regardless of whether they are top level object attributes or attributes of object attributes.
Python is having some trouble with this - first I tried doing something like this:
for string in attr_dictionary:
...
outputFile.print(outputclass.string)
...
But Python did not like this, and returned an AttributeError
After checking SE, I learned that this is a supposed solution:
for string in attr_dictionary:
...
outputFile.print(getattr(outputclass, string))
...
The only problem is - I want to dynamically access the attributes of objects that are attributes of outputclass. So ideally it would be something like outputclass.objectAttribute.attribute, but this does not work in python. When I use getattr(outputclass, objectAttribute.string), python returns an AttributeError
Any good solution here?
One thing I have thought of trying is creating methods to return those sub-attributes, something like:
class outputObject:
...
def attributeIWant(self,...):
return self.subObject.attributeIWant
...
Even then, it seems like getattr() will return an error because attributeIWant() is supposed to be a function call, it's not actually an attribute. I'm not certain that this is even within the capabilities of Python to make this happen.
Thank you in advance for reading and/or responding, if anyone is familiar with a way to do this it would save me a bunch of refactoring or additional code.
edit: Additional Clarification
The class for example is outputData, and inside that class you could have and instance of the class furtherData, which has the attribute dataIWant:
class outputData:
example: furtherData
example = furtherData()
example.dataIWant = someData
...
with the python getattr I can't access both attributes directly in outputData and attributes of example unless I use separate calls, the attribute of example needs two calls to getattr.
Edit2: I have found a solution I think works for this, see below
I was able to figure this out - I just wrote a quick function that splits the attribute string (for example outputObj.subObj.propertyIWant) then proceeds down the resultant array, calling getattr on each subobject until it reaches the end of the array and returns the actual attribute.
Code:
def obtainAttribute(sample, attributeString: str):
baseObj = sample
attrArray = attributeString.split(".")
for string in attrArray:
if(attrArray.index(string) == (len(attrArray) - 1)):
return getattr(baseObj,string)
else:
baseObj = getattr(baseObj,string)
return "failed"
sample is the object and attributeString is, for example object.subObject.attributeYouWant
I have a function that makes a dictionary based on file input. Then another function that makes a calculation based on the dictionary. These 2 functions are nested in a main function. I.e:
def make_dic():
data=dict()
code...
return data
def make_calculation():
for x,y in data.items()
code....
def main():
data=make_dic()
make_calculation()
My problem is that I get an error:
NameError: name 'data' is not defined
How can I get make_calculation() recognize the dictionary created in make_dic() when they are nested in main()?
Thanks.
Pass "data" as a parameter to your make_calculation function:
def make_dic():
data=dict()
code...
return data
def make_calculation(data):
for x,y in data.items()
code....
def main():
data=make_dic()
make_calculation(data)
The reason you need to do this is due to Python scoping rules (i.e. the location within a program , or "scope" of where a parameter is or is not defined).
Parameter "data" is not a global variable (using global variables is rarely recommended and should be a last resort) , and thus make_calculation(data) needs to receive the element as a parameter, which was defined elsewhere -ultimately the parameter created in make_dic()
#chepner said as much, more formally, in their comment (i.e. Python is lexically scoped). For much more on Python scoping rules see this old, but still useful ,answer : Short description of the scoping rules?
in the first function try putting global data, hope it helps.
This question already has answers here:
How can you dynamically create variables? [duplicate]
(8 answers)
Closed 4 years ago.
I have a class for which I want to create instances through a function, but I also want to be able to name the instances with the value of a Tkinter.Entry widget.
The simplified version of that I am trying to achieve is the following:
class vtdiagram():
IO=0.0
IC=0.0
EO=0.0
EC=0.0
IGA=0.0
def printvtvalues(self):
print self.IO
print self.IC
print self.EO
print self.EC
print self.IGA
def createvtinstance():
global Nametemp
Nametemp=vtdiagram()
If I run this code, then I can call Nametemp.printvtvalues() and get all values printed, so it works fine.
I am now trying to change the name of the instance Nametemp to the string that is on the Tkinter entry widget. Basically, if engine1 is written on the entry box when I createvtinstance(), I would like to then call the instance by:
engine1.printvtvalues()
and get the values.
I imagine the function should look something like this:
def createvtinstance():
global Nametemp
Nametemp=vtdiagram()
Nametemp._command_to_change_the_name_=stringinentrybox.get()
Do you guys have know of a command that can do such a thing?
Or is there a way that I could achieve the same effect, maybe using a dictionary?
***edit: The reason I need to name the variables is for the following (in plain English): I am creating an 'engine simulator'.
The idea is that the user will enter engine parameters -plus its name- in a GUI and this is the vtdiagram class.
The reason for using a class is that I have the characteristics of 'engine1, engine2...' saved as an instance of the class but I also need to have functions attached to it. This is because I want to generate graphs and diagrams of saved engines but only when called. So I can compare engine1 and engine2, but then get 'forget' engine2 from the GUI to compare 1 and 3.
Please keep in mind I am quite new to python :) ***
Many thanks!
Juan
I wouldn't recommend changing the name of a variable based on user input.
You could "achieve the same effect" like this:
Objects=[]
Names=[]
def createvtinstance(Object=4,Name="engine1"):
global Nametemp
global Objects
global Names
Nametemp=Object # I'll just use an int to demonstrate.
Objects+=[Nametemp]
Names+=[Name]
def Use(Name="engine1"):print(Objects[Names.index(Name)]) # Or: Objects[Names.index(Name)].SomeFunction()
If you REALLY want to alter the name of a variable based on user input, then you could do it like this:
def createvtinstance(Name="engine1"):
if (not Name[0]in"qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmQWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM") or False in(i in"1234567890qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmQWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM"for i in Name) or Name in("tkinter","createvtinstance","Name","vtdiagram",):return "Invalid name." # This should make the code more "robust".
try:exec("global "+Name+"\n"+Name+"=vtdiagram()")
except SyntaxError:return "Invalid name."
Or this:
def createvtinstance(Name="engine1"):
if (not Name[0]in"qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmQWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM") or False in(i in"1234567890qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmQWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM"for i in Name) or Name in("tkinter","createvtinstance","Name","vtdiagram",):raise NameError("The name "+Name+" does not comply to validation rules.") # This should make the code more "robust".
try:exec("global "+Name+"\n"+Name+"=vtdiagram()")
except SyntaxError:raise NameError(Name+" is a reserved keyword.")
The top example shows how you would use a list to find an object in another list; using a string. This is what I'd probably do in this situation, however a dictionary could be better.
The bottom examples show how you would actually name a variable based on user input. This is NOT RECOMMENDED. Everyone seems to agree that using exec is counterproductive, and should be avoided. Python can't compile code in exec statements until execution, and won't be able to colour code your code.
People have been suggesting the use of python dictionaries, so I decided to research them. Dictionaries (dict) seem to be a data type similar to lists, except they can be indexed using strings (or other "immutable" data types). Here is a version of my first example that uses a dictionary instead of lists:
Objects={}
def createvtinstance(Object=4,Name="engine1"):
global Objects
Objects[Name]=Object
def Use(Name="engine1"):print(Objects[Name]) # Or: Objects[Name].SomeFunction()
Python seems to have a built in dictionary called globals, which stores all your variables, so you could probably do:
def createvtinstance(Object=4,Name="engine1"):
globals()[Name]=Object # Or globals()[Name]=vtdiagram()
However, this will allow the user to break your program, if they use a name like createvtinstance or tkinter.
This question already has answers here:
Python - Why is this class variable not defined in the method?
(3 answers)
Why is instance variable not getting recognized
(2 answers)
Closed 6 years ago.
I am writing a piece of code for a homework class, which should allow me to calculate various distance statistics about two lists. However, when I assign the lists to the class, and try to print the result of one of the functions, I get the error,
NameError: name 'ratings1' is not defined
Leading me to believe that I did something incorrectly either in my __init__ function or the referencing in the functions. Can you help clarify what I'm doing wrong?
class similarity:
def __init__(self, ratingX, ratingY):
self.ratings1=ratingX
self.ratings2=ratingY
def minkowski(self,r):
self.r=r
mink=0
length=len(ratings1)
for i in range(0,length):
mink=mink+(abs(ratings1[i]-ratings2[i]))**r
mink=mink**(1/r)
result='Given r=%d, Minkowski distance=%f'%(r,mink)
return result
def pearson(self):
Xavg=average(ratings1)
Yavg=average(ratings2)
n=len(ratings1)
diffX=[]
diffY=[]
for i in range(0,n):
diffX.append(ratings1[i]-Xavg)
diffY.append(ratings2[i]-Yavg)
return diffX
diffXY=[]
for i in range(0,n):
diffXY.append(diffX[i]*diffY[i])
example2=similarity([1,3,5,5,6],[4,6,10,12,13])
print(example2.pearson())
Note: this error persists if I change the references to "ratings1/2" to "ratingsX/Y" in the functions.
You need to use self before every reference to instance variable, ie self.ratings1, and your indentation is wrong as well.
ratings are associated with class. Use self.ratings1 and so on..
I just figured out my mistake. For each function I failed to use the self. phrase before the ratings name. To amend this, I added
ratings1=self.
ratings2=self.ratings2
To the beginning of each function. Problem solved.
[EDIT 00]: I've edited several times the post and now even the title, please read below.
I just learned about the format string method, and its use with dictionaries, like the ones provided by vars(), locals() and globals(), example:
name = 'Ismael'
print 'My name is {name}.'.format(**vars())
But I want to do:
name = 'Ismael'
print 'My name is {name}.' # Similar to ruby
So I came up with this:
def mprint(string='', dictionary=globals()):
print string.format(**dictionary)
You can interact with the code here:
http://labs.codecademy.com/BA0B/3#:workspace
Finally, what I would love to do is to have the function in another file, named my_print.py, so I could do:
from my_print import mprint
name= 'Ismael'
mprint('Hello! My name is {name}.')
But as it is right now, there is a problem with the scopes, how could I get the the main module namespace as a dictionary from inside the imported mprint function. (not the one from my_print.py)
I hope I made myself uderstood, if not, try importing the function from another module. (the traceback is in the link)
It's accessing the globals() dict from my_print.py, but of course the variable name is not defined in that scope, any ideas of how to accomplish this?
The function works if it's defined in the same module, but notice how I must use globals() because if not I would only get a dictionary with the values within mprint() scope.
I have tried using nonlocal and dot notation to access the main module variables, but I still can't figure it out.
[EDIT 01]: I think I've figured out a solution:
In my_print.py:
def mprint(string='',dictionary=None):
if dictionary is None:
import sys
caller = sys._getframe(1)
dictionary = caller.f_locals
print string.format(**dictionary)
In test.py:
from my_print import mprint
name = 'Ismael'
country = 'Mexico'
languages = ['English', 'Spanish']
mprint("Hello! My name is {name}, I'm from {country}\n"
"and I can speak {languages[1]} and {languages[0]}.")
It prints:
Hello! My name is Ismael, I'm from Mexico
and I can speak Spanish and English.
What do you think guys? That was a difficult one for me!
I like it, much more readable for me.
[EDIT 02]: I've made a module with an interpolate function, an Interpolate class and an attempt for a interpolate class method analogous to the function.
It has a small test suite and its documented!
I'm stuck with the method implementation, I don't get it.
Here's the code: http://pastebin.com/N2WubRSB
What do you think guys?
[EDIT 03]: Ok I have settled with just the interpolate() function for now.
In string_interpolation.py:
import sys
def get_scope(scope):
scope = scope.lower()
caller = sys._getframe(2)
options = ['l', 'local', 'g', 'global']
if scope not in options[:2]:
if scope in options[2:]:
return caller.f_globals
else:
raise ValueError('invalid mode: {0}'.format(scope))
return caller.f_locals
def interpolate(format_string=str(),sequence=None,scope='local',returns=False):
if type(sequence) is str:
scope = sequence
sequence = get_scope(scope)
else:
if not sequence:
sequence = get_scope(scope)
format = 'format_string.format(**sequence)'
if returns is False:
print eval(format)
elif returns is True:
return eval(format)
Thanks again guys! Any opinions?
[EDIT 04]:
This is my last version, it has a test, docstrings and describes some limitations I've found:
http://pastebin.com/ssqbbs57
You can quickly test the code here:
http://labs.codecademy.com/BBMF#:workspace
And clone grom git repo here:
https://github.com/Ismael-VC/python_string_interpolation.git
Modules don't share namespaces in python, so globals() for my_print is always going to be the globals() of my_print.py file ; i.e the location where the function was actually defined.
def mprint(string='', dic = None):
dictionary = dic if dic is not None else globals()
print string.format(**dictionary)
You should pass the current module's globals() explicitly to make it work.
Ans don't use mutable objects as default values in python functions, it can result in unexpected results. Use None as default value instead.
A simple example for understanding scopes in modules:
file : my_print.py
x = 10
def func():
global x
x += 1
print x
file : main.py
from my_print import *
x = 50
func() #prints 11 because for func() global scope is still
#the global scope of my_print file
print x #prints 50
Part of your problem - well, the reason its not working - is highlighted in this question.
You can have your function work by passing in globals() as your second argument, mprint('Hello my name is {name}',globals()).
Although it may be convenient in Ruby, I would encourage you not to write Ruby in Python if you want to make the most out of the language.
Language Design Is Not Just Solving Puzzles: ;)
http://www.artima.com/forums/flat.jsp?forum=106&thread=147358
Edit: PEP-0498 solves this issue!
The Template class from the string module, also does what I need (but more similar to the string format method), in the end it also has the readability I seek, it also has the recommended explicitness, it's in the Standard Library and it can also be easily customized and extended.
http://docs.python.org/2/library/string.html?highlight=template#string.Template
from string import Template
name = 'Renata'
place = 'hospital'
job = 'Dr.'
how = 'glad'
header = '\nTo Ms. {name}:'
letter = Template("""
Hello Ms. $name.
I'm glad to inform, you've been
accepted in our $place, and $job Red
will ${how}ly recieve you tomorrow morning.
""")
print header.format(**vars())
print letter.substitute(vars())
The funny thing is that now I'm getting more fond of using {} instead of $ and I still like the string_interpolation module I came up with, because it's less typing than either one in the long run. LOL!
Run the code here:
http://labs.codecademy.com/BE3n/3#:workspace