Is this possible: scoping question with exec

[Brian Kelley]

Bengt Richter wrote:

>On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 15:34:12 -0500, Brian Kelley <bkelley at wi.mit.edu> wrote:
>
>>Running Python 2.1
>>
>>def a():
>>   return b
>>
>>exec "a()" in {'b':1, 'a':a}
>>
>>b doesn't seem to passed as a global into the function a.
>>
>This seems possible:
> >>> exec """def a():
> ...    print 'from a()'
> ...    return b
> ... print a()
> ... """ in {'b':1, 'a':a}
> from a()
> 1
>
>I'd guess the dictionary for globals used by the function is
>determined by the context of the execution of the def?
>
If that's the case though, I would have expected a compiler/syntax 
error.  I was hoping that I could pass globals into a compiled function 
though.  Guess I'll have to look at the source code and see if this is 
not possible.

Brian Kelley
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research