[Tutor] new object attribute from string?

[Jeff Shannon]

Danny Yoo wrote:

>Yes, the direct way works too.  *grin*
>
>In certain really dynamic code, the attribute name itself may not known
>until "runtime", when the program is actively running.
>  
>

Under most such circumstances, though, wouldn't it be easier and more 
straightforward to use setattr()/getattr() instead of directly fiddling 
with the object's __dict__?

 >>> class Item:
...     pass
...
 >>> i = Item()
 >>> i.dict
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<interactive input>", line 1, in ?
AttributeError: Item instance has no attribute 'dict'
 >>> attribute = "dict"
 >>> setattr(i, attribute, {})
 >>> i.dict
{}
 >>> getattr(i, attribute)
{}
 >>>

Jeff Shannon
Technician/Programmer
Credit International