How best to write this if-else?

[Ben Wolfson]

In article <roy-D0E658.17013521042001 at news.panix.com>, "Roy Smith"
<roy at panix.com> wrote:

> What if I want to execute different code depending on which expression I
> matched?  Something along the lines of (pseudocode):
> 
> if (m = e1.match(line)):
>    text1 = m.group(1)
>    do_complicated_processing (text1)
> elif (m = e2.match(line)):
>    text1 = m.group(1)
>    text2 = m.group(2)
>    print text1, text2
> elif (m = e3.match(line)):
>    return

You could do

def meaningful_name_1(matchobject):
   do_complicated_processing(matchobject.group(1))
def meaningful_name_2(matchobject): ...etc

re_dispatch = {re.compile(blah):meaningful_name_1,
               re.compile(durh):meaningful_name_2
               ..etc
              }
for re, func in re_dispatch.items():
    m = re.match(line)
    if m:
       func(m)
       break
else:
    no match found

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Barnabas T. Rumjuggler
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But 'tis the happy who have called thee so.
 -- Robert Southey