[Python-ideas] dir with a glob?

[Ben Finney]

Sturla Molden <sturla at molden.no> writes:

> Often when exploring an object with the 'dir' function, particularly
> in large packages like SciPy, I find that I need to filter the outout.

We have list comprehensions and generator expressions to filter a
sequence, and I suspect they would serve you well for this purpose.

> Since a dir reminds me of a dos 'dir' or linux 'ls', a glob feels like
> the most natural to use.
>
> For example, none of these would work:
>
> >>> dir(sp.fft.i*)  # syntax error

What would you expect this to return? The ‘dir’ function is specifically
for inspecting *one* object. Do you just want all the attributes of all
the matching objects mixed up together, or what?

> I believe a new dir functions is needed, or a change in the behviour
> of the current version.

This is ‘python-ideas’. What is your idea for the desired behaviour?

What about using a list comprehension or generator expression to get
what you want?

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Ben Finney