Dive Into Python

Remember locals? You first saw it here:

    def unknown_starttag(self, tag, attrs):
        strattrs = "".join([' %s="%s"' % (key, value) for key, value in attrs])
        self.pieces.append("<%(tag)s%(strattrs)s>" % locals())

No, wait, you can't learn about locals yet. First, you need to learn about namespaces. This is dry stuff, but it's important, so pay attention.

Python uses what are called namespaces to keep track of variables. A namespace is just like a dictionary where the keys are names of variables and the dictionary values are the values of those variables. In fact, you can access a namespace as a Python dictionary, as you'll see in a minute.

At any particular point in a Python program, there are several namespaces available. Each function has its own namespace, called the local namespace, which keeps track of the function's variables, including function arguments and locally defined variables. Each module has its own namespace, called the global namespace, which keeps track of the module's variables, including functions, classes, any other imported modules, and module-level variables and constants. And there is the built-in namespace, accessible from any module, which holds built-in functions and exceptions.

When a line of code asks for the value of a variable x, Python will search for that variable in all the available namespaces, in order:

If Python doesn't find x in any of these namespaces, it gives up and raises a NameError with the message There is no variable named 'x', which you saw back in Example 3.18, “Referencing an Unbound Variable”, but you didn't appreciate how much work Python was doing before giving you that error.

Python 2.2 introduced a subtle but important change that affects the namespace search order: nested scopes. In versions of Python prior to 2.2, when you reference a variable within a nested function or lambda function, Python will search for that variable in the current (nested or lambda) function's namespace, then in the module's namespace. Python 2.2 will search for the variable in the current (nested or lambda) function's namespace, then in the parent function's namespace, then in the module's namespace. Python 2.1 can work either way; by default, it works like Python 2.0, but you can add the following line of code at the top of your module to make your module work like Python 2.2: from __future__ import nested_scopes

Are you confused yet? Don't despair! This is really cool, I promise. Like many things in Python, namespaces are directly accessible at run-time. How? Well, the local namespace is accessible via the built-in locals function, and the global (module level) namespace is accessible via the built-in globals function.

Example 8.10. Introducing locals

>>> def foo(arg): 
...     x = 1
...     print locals()
...     
>>> foo(7)        
{'arg': 7, 'x': 1}
>>> foo('bar')    
{'arg': 'bar', 'x': 1}

	The function foo has two variables in its local namespace: arg, whose value is passed in to the function, and x, which is defined within the function.
	locals returns a dictionary of name/value pairs. The keys of this dictionary are the names of the variables as strings; the values of the dictionary are the actual values of the variables. So calling foo with 7 prints the dictionary containing the function's two local variables: arg (7) and x (1).
	Remember, Python has dynamic typing, so you could just as easily pass a string in for arg; the function (and the call to locals) would still work just as well. locals works with all variables of all datatypes.

What locals does for the local (function) namespace, globals does for the global (module) namespace. globals is more exciting, though, because a module's namespace is more exciting.^[3] Not only does the module's namespace include module-level variables and constants, it includes all the functions and classes defined in the module. Plus, it includes anything that was imported into the module.

Remember the difference between from module import and import module? With import module, the module itself is imported, but it retains its own namespace, which is why you need to use the module name to access any of its functions or attributes: module.function. But with from module import, you're actually importing specific functions and attributes from another module into your own namespace, which is why you access them directly without referencing the original module they came from. With the globals function, you can actually see this happen.

Example 8.11. Introducing globals

Look at the following block of code at the bottom of BaseHTMLProcessor.py:

if __name__ == "__main__":
    for k, v in globals().items():             
        print k, "=", v

Just so you don't get intimidated, remember that you've seen all this before. The globals function returns a dictionary, and you're iterating through the dictionary using the items method and multi-variable assignment. The only thing new here is the globals function.

Now running the script from the command line gives this output (note that your output may be slightly different, depending on your platform and where you installed Python):

c:\docbook\dip\py> python BaseHTMLProcessor.py

SGMLParser = sgmllib.SGMLParser                
htmlentitydefs = <module 'htmlentitydefs' from 'C:\Python23\lib\htmlentitydefs.py'> 
BaseHTMLProcessor = __main__.BaseHTMLProcessor 
__name__ = __main__                            
... rest of output omitted for brevity...

	SGMLParser was imported from sgmllib, using from module import. That means that it was imported directly into the module's namespace, and here it is.
	Contrast this with htmlentitydefs, which was imported using import. That means that the htmlentitydefs module itself is in the namespace, but the entitydefs variable defined within htmlentitydefs is not.
	This module only defines one class, BaseHTMLProcessor, and here it is. Note that the value here is the class itself, not a specific instance of the class.
	Remember the if __name__ trick? When running a module (as opposed to importing it from another module), the built-in __name__ attribute is a special value, __main__. Since you ran this module as a script from the command line, __name__ is __main__, which is why the little test code to print the globals got executed.

	Using the locals and globals functions, you can get the value of arbitrary variables dynamically, providing the variable name as a string. This mirrors the functionality of the getattr function, which allows you to access arbitrary functions dynamically by providing the function name as a string.

There is one other important difference between the locals and globals functions, which you should learn now before it bites you. It will bite you anyway, but at least then you'll remember learning it.

Example 8.12. locals is read-only, globals is not

def foo(arg):
    x = 1
    print locals()    
    locals()["x"] = 2 
    print "x=",x      

z = 7
print "z=",z
foo(3)
globals()["z"] = 8    
print "z=",z          

	Since foo is called with 3, this will print {'arg': 3, 'x': 1}. This should not be a surprise.
	locals is a function that returns a dictionary, and here you are setting a value in that dictionary. You might think that this would change the value of the local variable x to 2, but it doesn't. locals does not actually return the local namespace, it returns a copy. So changing it does nothing to the value of the variables in the local namespace.
	This prints x= 1, not x= 2.
	After being burned by locals, you might think that this wouldn't change the value of z, but it does. Due to internal differences in how Python is implemented (which I'd rather not go into, since I don't fully understand them myself), globals returns the actual global namespace, not a copy: the exact opposite behavior of locals. So any changes to the dictionary returned by globals directly affect your global variables.
	This prints z= 8, not z= 7.