Python String to list processing

Question

I feel my recently gained knowledge is still not sufficient when it comes to string processing. Please help me solve the below problem statement: (Please note:This is the simpler version of my requirement)

So.. I have a file (myoption) with content as below:

day=monday,tuesday,wednesday
month=jan,feb,march,april
holiday=thanksgiving,chirstmas

My python script should be able to read the file and process the read info such that in the end i have three list variables as below:

day --> ['monday','tuesday','wednesday']
month --> ['jan','feb','march','april']
holiday --> ['thanksgiving','christmas']

Please note: As per my requirement, the format for contents in myoption file should be simple. Hence You are free to modify the format of 'myoption' file without changing the content - This is to give you some flexibility.

Thanks :)

Why not stick with a classic format and just use ConfigParser? — Raymond Hettinger
– Raymond Hettinger, Commented Nov 21, 2011 at 6:50
@Raymond Thanks for informing about configparser, I will look into it. — Ani
– Ani, Commented Nov 21, 2011 at 6:58
@AnimeshSharma I like the confiparser answer, anyway I suggested you how to do it with your format — lc2817
– lc2817, Commented Nov 21, 2011 at 6:59

David Webb · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-21 07:16:26Z

5

If you use the standard ConfigParser module your data would need to be in INI file format, and so would look something like this:

[options]
day = monday,tuesday,wednesday
month = jan,feb,march,april
holiday = thanksgiving,christmas

And then you could read the file as follows:

import ConfigParser

parser = ConfigParser.ConfigParser()
parser.read('myoption.ini')
day = parser.get('options','day').split(',')
month = parser.get('options','month').split(',')
holiday = parser.get('options','holiday').split(',')

answered Nov 21, 2011 at 7:16

David Webb

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1 Comment

Ani Over a year ago

Is there anyway to append new data into the INI file using configparser? Using .set I am able to add data, but it overwrites old file. Hence If i am appending new data to old INI file - as of now i Have to add new and old data, which requires additional resources.

Alvin K. · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-21 07:54:00Z

2

Here's a simple answer:

s = 'day=monday,tuesday,wednesday'
mylist = {}
key, value = s.split('=')
mylist[key] = value.split(',')

print mylist['day'][0]

Output: monday

edited Nov 21, 2011 at 7:54

answered Nov 21, 2011 at 7:04

Alvin K.

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4 Comments

mkriheli Over a year ago

Better getting used to not using list as a variable name, it hides the builtin and may lead to hard to debug bugs.

Alvin K. Over a year ago

Thanks, I was wondering about that after I posted the answer, re-editing.

Ani Over a year ago

Thanks Alvin for your time. Now i know two solutions to my problem :)

Alvin K. Over a year ago

I'd advocate ConfigParser as the first choice (ie: do not reinvent the wheel whenever possible :).

Michael Hoffman · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-21 06:49:51Z

1

You may be interested in the ConfigParser module.

answered Nov 21, 2011 at 6:49

Michael Hoffman

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Comments

lc2817 · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-21 06:56:13Z

1

You can rewrite your file in YAML or XML if you want your application respect a standard. Anyway, if you want to keep your simple format, this should word:

Given the file data:

day=monday,tuesday,wednesday
month=jan,feb,march,april
holiday=thanksgiving,chirstmas

I propose this python script

f = open("data")
for line in f:
  content = line.split("=")
  #vars to set the variable name as the string found and 
  #[:-1] to remove the new line character
  vars()[content[0]] = content[1][:-1].split(",")
print day
print month
print holiday
f.close()

The output is

python main.py 
['monday', 'tuesday', 'wednesday']
['jan', 'feb', 'march', 'april']
['thanksgiving', 'chirstmas']

answered Nov 21, 2011 at 6:56

lc2817

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