Pass parameters/globals to eval

[Chris Angelico]

On Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 11:14 PM,  <esandin at gmail.com> wrote:
> Why isn't 'a' defined?
> Shouldn't you be able to define the global variables with a dict passed to eval?
> Is there an other way to do this, beside the two obvious: defining 'a' before calling gp_function and using a as an argument in gp_function?

It is defined, but not in the context of the called function.

You defined that function in a particular scope, which then becomes
its global scope. (I'm handwaving a lot of details here. Bear with
me.) When you eval a bit of code, you define the global scope for
_that code_, but not what it calls. Calling gp_function from inside
there switches to the new global scope and off it goes.

Normally, I'd recommend your second option, passing a as an argument.
It's flexible, clear, doesn't rely on fancy names and hidden state.
But to answer your actual question: Yes, there is another way to do
it. In all probability, gp_function is actually defined at module
scope (I'm guessing here but it seems likely based on your
description). Simply assign to the module's namespace before calling
it - it'll "see" that as a global.

ChrisA