[Tutor] Object Instantiation via Dictionary Values

[Jeff Shannon]

Sean Abrahams wrote:

>I want to create new objects with names and classes that are stored
>inside a list of dictionaries.
>
>Example:
>
>modules = [{'Name' : 'Sean', 'Type' : 'Person'},
>{'Name' : 'Buddy', 'Type' : 'Dog'},
>{'Name' : 'Evil', ' Type' : 'Cat'}]
>
>for module in modules:
>    module['Name'] = module['Type'].module['Type']()
>    # Would be:
>    # Sean = Person.Person()
>    # Buddy = Dog.Dog()
>    # Evil = Cat.Cat()
>
>
>I'm not exactly sure how to go about this, but assume it has something
>to do with using special methods.
>

Not if you're happy keeping your created objects in a dictionary.  I 
presume that you have, say, a module Person.py that contains class 
Person, etc?  If you've already imported your modules, they'll be in 
sys.modules; if not, you can investigate the imp() builtin (IIRC). 
 Presuming you've already imported them, and also sys:

objects = {}

for module in modules:
    type = module['Type']
    mod = sys.modules[type]
    objects[module['Name']] = getattr(mod, type)()

This is completely untested, and just off the top of my head, so use 
with caution -- but I think it should work, or at least give you a 
general idea...

Jeff Shannon
Technician/Programmer
Credit International