looking for way to include many times some .py code from anotherpython code

[Martin MOKREJŠ]

Steve Holden wrote:
> Martin MOKREJŠ wrote:
> 
>> Steve Holden wrote:
>>
> [...]
> 
>>> I will be *very* surprised if you can't get a much better (i.e. 
>>> easier and more efficient) solution by stepping back from the 
>>> programming 
>>
>>
>>
>> Hmm, I'm not convinced, but I'll put few more words here then. ;)
>>
>>> details for a moment and explaining what it is you are actually 
>>> trying to achieve in user-space.
>>>
>>> Can you describe the problem you are trying to solve, rather than the 
>>> solution you are hoping to adopt?
>>
>>
>>
>> User inputs data through html forms, data has to be quality-checked
>> and strored into mysql. Later, data is read from mysql and presented
>> through web. There's nothing special in it, just that the tables
>> describe a lot of specific experimental parameters. Tables do reflect
>> type of informations, so they group the data into logical units - so
>> tablename reflects the data contained.
>>
>> In general, there are two types of data, hence my X and Y objects.
>> The underlaying data at some time point go into sql tables. Before that
>> happens, the data == variable contents are checked that they contain
>> expected values (in some cases enumerated values, in some cases integers,
>> sometime chars and only about 6 blobs). I spent a year developing the
>> database schema and php code, the schema is nearly optimal. I got bored
>> by the php code, as it was partly developed by a lazy guy (lazier than 
>> I'm).
>> I went fot python - to have better error handling, have not only web app,
>> but reusable code for standalone application (html forms can be replaced
>> by any tcl/tk widget for M$ Windows). Sql transaction I have added to
>> the php code, but anyway it sucks to work with it further.
>>
>> My idea is to check some of the values while instantiating, as I get 
>> it for
>> free (assigning either to a default value or raising an exception when
>> variable is empty). In most cases this is not enough, and I have to 
>> type in
>> the allowed values.
>> 1. In case of enumerated types, I hope to find a tool
>> able to read sql files and able to extract column definitions. In this
>> particular case, the program would dynamically read allowed ENUM values,
>> so whenever sql table is altered, the program will recognize new value
>> allowed.
>> 2. In most other cases, the values are simply some kind of string, and
>> .find() et al. will suffice.
>> 3. In case data was read from mysql, I can verify that foreign keys refer
>> to what they should refer.
>>
>> OK, I get the data written to mysql. I can fetch it back, and want to 
>> dump
>> it into xml and present on web/(local gui).
>>
>> I have the claases corresponding to all tables as superclasses of X and Y
>> as necessary. I went to ask on this list how to assign the variables 
>> easily
>> because parts of the code are almost identical. I believe this has been
>> answered quite well.
>>
>> I believe the approach using classes corresponding to every single table
>> is right, when using them as superclasses for those two, practically
>> used objects: X and Y.
>>
>> To print the output on web or any gui, I think I'll use the xml output
>> and just parse it. I need xml anyway for testing, and definitely want
>> to be able to construct the html/GUI output from the xml input - again,
>> for testing. So the objects will more or less exist only to get the
>> necessary checks done for those myriads of variables, which must be
>> evaluated in current context. I'd get crazy if I'd store things into
>> bsbdb -- I'm not going to remember that a[0] is table1, a[1] is table2,
>> a[0][0] is the primary key called blah, a[0][22] is allowed to be 
>> equal only to "foo" or "bar" ... and that if a[2][4] is defined 
>> (actually number),
>> the number is the key to search in c[key]. Simply, that's for what I 
>> use mysql
>> I don't want to invent the database schema in bsddb in python. ;)
>> It's simply data, it must be read into variables in some objects, those
>> object are groupped into just two superobjects. The superobjects define
>> check-methods, define how to dump the it's data into xml, how
>> to write (in which order) the values into mysql.
>>
>> I'm sorry not to send in the sql schema + the code, but this is my phd 
>> thesis. ;)
>>
>> I'm very glad there's so many people interrested to help - not only - me.
>> Thanks! Now I'm really looking forward how would you rework this thing.
>> It's simple, easy, it's just sometime tedious as having 250 columns in 
>> 20 tables
>> simply makes you bored to type the code, after while.
>>
>> The only think where I think I need help is, how to dump easily into 
>> xml say object
>> X, having variables a, b, c, where c is a ref. to object B, containing 
>> variables p, q, r.
>>
>>>>> B = obj()
>>>>> setattr(B, p, 44)
>>>>> setattr(B, q, "sdjahd")
>>>>> setattr(B, r, "qew")
>>>>> X = obj()
>>>>> setattr(X, a, 1)
>>>>> setattr(X, a, 2)
>>>>> setattr(X, a, B)
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> print do_magick(X)
>>
>>
>> <X>
>>    <a>1</a>
>>    <b>2</b>
>>    <B>
>>        <p>44</p>
>>        <q>sdjahd</q>
>>        <r>qew</r>
>>    </B>
>> </X>
>>
>>>>>
>>
> I still don't really see why you have to store this thing as objects, 
> but I appreciate that you can only give limited information and still 
> retain the validity of a thesis.

The project is not published yet. When it is, I'll make it free. I'm a biologist,
and most biologists care only about the content of the database, not about
*any* technical details. It's very interresting project for them/me,
and I'm the only one who cares about technical details.

> My own usual approach in such situations is to use metadata to describe 
> the structure and required processing of the data, as it's often much 
> easier to write small amounts of relatively flexible data-driven code 
> that it is to hard-wire all the logic around specific structures and data.

Can you give me some example? What are the "metadata"? Sure I want to learn
something and I don't rely on almost anything. But I simply thought that
the object at least group together common methods, common variables.
Anyway when reading or writing to a single sql table, I have to have handy
which coulmns to expect. Supergrouping into superobject gives me way to
define order, in which I have to interact with set of mysql tables.
Whats' wrong here? ;)

M.