call function of class instance with no assigned name?

[Rhodri James]

On Tue, 05 May 2009 16:52:39 +0100, George Oliver  
<georgeoliverGO at gmail.com> wrote:

> hi, I'm a Python beginner with a basic question. I'm writing a game
> where I have keyboard input handling defined in one class, and command
> execution defined in another class. The keyboard handler class
> contains a dictionary that maps a key to a command string (like 'h':
> 'left') and the command handler class contains functions that do the
> commands (like def do_right(self):),
>
> I create instances of these classes in a list attached to a third,
> 'brain' class. What I'd like to have happen is when the player presses
> a key, the command string is passed to the command handler, which runs
> the function. However I can't figure out a good way to make this
> happen.
>
> I've tried a dictionary mapping command strings to functions in the
> command handler class, but those dictionary values are evaluated just
> once when the class is instantiated. I can create a dictionary in a
> separate function in the command handler (like a do_command function)
> but creating what could be a big dictionary for each input seems kind
> of silly (unless I'm misunderstanding something there).

Taking a wild guess when you were creating that dictionary mapping
command strings to functions, did you map to function calls or to the
function objects themselves?  I'd make a small wager you did the former,
and the latter would have done what you want.  Something like this,
maybe?

>>>> CODE FOLLOWS<<<<

class DoSomething(object):
     def do_this(self):
         print "Doing this"

     def do_that(self):
         print "Doing that"

     def do_the_other(self):
         print "Doing the other"

     _CMD_DICT = { 'this' : do_this,
                   'that' : do_that,
                   'the other' : do_the_other }

     def update(self, cmd):
         try:
             DoSomething._CMD_DICT[cmd](self)
         except KeyError:
             print "Foul!  Foul, I say!"

>>>> END CODE<<<<

To be honest, the getattr approach is probably as easy to follow
and less prone to forgetting to update the dictionary.


-- 
Rhodri James *-* Wildebeeste Herder to the Masses