On Sat, Jan 04, 2014 at 12:32:19AM -0500, Keith Winston wrote: > On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 11:59 PM, Steven D'Aprano <st...@pearwood.info>wrote: > > > thelist = vars()[name] > > > I see: vars() certainly looks less dangerous than eval(), but I'm guessing > that's still smelly code? I hadn't known about vars() or I probably would > have used it.
Yes, it's still a bit smelly: but only a bit, since while "direct" code is the idea, sometimes the only way to do things is with one (or two) layers of indirection. Code should (as a general rule) not rely on, or be affected by, the name of the variable. Functions which inspect the running environment (i.e. peek deep inside the interpreter) or use eval or other techniques to operate "behind the scenes" on *names* rather than values can often lead to confusing code. As debugging tools, they're useful. Putting such functionality inside normal everyday programs is a code smell. -- Steven _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
