What type of *data* is the name of a list/tuple/dict, etc?

[alloydog]

In this excerpt of something I'm playing with, I create a variable from the user input. The user inpout is then added to a string. The resultant string is then used to refer to a list.

But, when I try to print the contents of the list, the output is just the list's name, not the contents of the list itself. The script is:

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thermistor_list = ["0.1K1A", "0.3K1A", "1K2A", "1K7A", "2K3A", "2.2K3A", "3K3A", "5K3A", "10K3A", "10K4A", "30K5A", "30K6A", "50K6A", "100K6A", "1M9A"] device_list = ["device0", "device1", "device2", "device3 ", "device4", "device5", "device6", "device7", "device8", "device9", "device10", "device11 ", "device12", "device13", "device14"] device0 =  [1.942952*10**-3, 2.989769*10**-4, 3.504383*10**-7]  # 0.1K1A device1 =  [1.627660*10**-3, 2.933316*10**-4, 2.870016*10**-7]  # 0.3K1A device2 =  [1.373168*10**-3, 2.772261*10**-4, 1.997412*10**-7]  # 1K2A device3 =  [1.446059*10**-3, 2.683626*10**-4, 1.643561*10**-7]  # 1K7A device4 =  [1.498872*10**-3, 2.379047*10**-4, 1.066953*10**-7]  # 2K3A device5 =  [1.471388*10**-3, 2.376138*10**-4, 1.051058*10**-7]  # 2.2K3A device6 =  [1.405027*10**-3, 2.369386*10**-4, 1.012660*10**-7]  # 3K3A device7 =  [1.287450*10**-3, 2.357394*10**-4, 9.505200*10**-8]  # 5K3A device8 =  [1.129241*10**-3, 2.341077*10**-4, 8.775468*10**-8]  # 10K3A device9 =  [1.028444*10**-3, 2.392435*10**-4, 1.562216*10**-7]  # 10K4A device10 = [9.331754*10**-4, 2.213978*10**-4, 1.263817*10**-7]  # 30K5A device11 = [1.068981*10**-3, 2.120700*10**-4, 9.019537*10**-8]  # 30K6A device12 = [9.657154*10**-4, 2.106840*10**-4, 8.585481*10**-8]  # 50K6A device13 = [8.271111*10**-4, 2.088020*10**-4, 8.059200*10**-8]  # 100K6A device14 = [7.402387*10**-4, 1.760865*10**-4, 6.865999*10**-8]  # 1M9A     # NOTE: 2.2K3A is OK-ish - Gives 25.53 °C @ 2200 Ω   # SELECT THERMISTOR TYPE TO BE MEASURED AND EXTRACT CONSTANTS   print("Devices available:") for index, value in enumerate(thermistor_list):     print(index, value, sep=": ")   device_number = int(input("Select the device to be measured = 0 to 14: ")) x = int(device_number) selected_thermistor = (thermistor_list[x]) selected_device = (device_list[x]) print("Selected thermistor is", selected_thermistor) print(selected_device) # Prints contents of user selected list print(device14) # Prints content of list by naming it directly

The output looks like this:

Devices available:
0: 0.1K1A
1: 0.3K1A
2: 1K2A
3: 1K7A
4: 2K3A
5: 2.2K3A
6: 3K3A
7: 5K3A
8: 10K3A
9: 10K4A
10: 30K5A
11: 30K6A
12: 50K6A
13: 100K6A
14: 1M9A
Select the device to be measured = 0 to 14: 14
Selected thermistor is 1M9A
device14
[0.0007402387000000001, 0.0001760865, 6.865999000000001e-08]

You can see that when I input "14", the output correctly tells me the selected device is 1M9A, but then instead of printing the contents of list device14, it just prints "device14", its name.
The last line is just to show what should be printed.

I have tried:

1	selected_device = str(device_list[x])

but the output is the same.
I also tried:

1	selected_device = list(device_list[x])

the output was:
['d', 'e', 'v', 'i', 'c', 'e', '1', '4']

So, what is the difference between the value for selected_device and the same value (in this case device14) and the actual list name?

[Gribouillis]

Instead of defining a variable name for each device, define a list directly

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device_list = [     [1.942952*10**-3, 2.989769*10**-4, 3.504383*10**-7],  # 0.1K1A     [1.627660*10**-3, 2.933316*10**-4, 2.870016*10**-7],  # 0.3K1A     [1.373168*10**-3, 2.772261*10**-4, 1.997412*10**-7],  # 1K2A     [1.446059*10**-3, 2.683626*10**-4, 1.643561*10**-7],  # 1K7A     [1.498872*10**-3, 2.379047*10**-4, 1.066953*10**-7],  # 2K3A     [1.471388*10**-3, 2.376138*10**-4, 1.051058*10**-7],  # 2.2K3A     [1.405027*10**-3, 2.369386*10**-4, 1.012660*10**-7],  # 3K3A     [1.287450*10**-3, 2.357394*10**-4, 9.505200*10**-8],  # 5K3A     [1.129241*10**-3, 2.341077*10**-4, 8.775468*10**-8],  # 10K3A     [1.028444*10**-3, 2.392435*10**-4, 1.562216*10**-7],  # 10K4A     [9.331754*10**-4, 2.213978*10**-4, 1.263817*10**-7],  # 30K5A     [1.068981*10**-3, 2.120700*10**-4, 9.019537*10**-8],  # 30K6A     [9.657154*10**-4, 2.106840*10**-4, 8.585481*10**-8],  # 50K6A     [8.271111*10**-4, 2.088020*10**-4, 8.059200*10**-8],  # 100K6A     [7.402387*10**-4, 1.760865*10**-4, 6.865999*10**-8],  # 1M9A ] print(device_list[14])

Output:
[0.0007402387000000001, 0.0001760865, 6.865999000000001e-08]

Also instead of 8.059200*10**-8, it is better to use Python's syntax and write 8.059200e-8. In this case, the two numbers differ by 1 bit.

About your question in the title of this thread: there is no data type that would be a 'variable'. A variable in Python is only a string, a key in a dictionary. There is nothing like a 'pointer to pointer' as you would find in other languages such as C.

[bowlofred]

device_list is just a list of character strings. So when you print one element of it, it's just the string that is printed.

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device_list = ["device0", "device1", "device2", "device3 ", "device4", "device5", "device6", "device7", "device8", "device9", "device10", "device11 ", "device12", "device13", "device14"] ... selected_device = (device_list[x])  # this will be a string like "device14" print(selected_device) # And here it is printed out.

[buran]

when you do selected_device = (device_list[x]), selected_device is just a string, it's not the list as you think. Now, there is a way to do what you want, but it is plainly WRONG (you don't create names dynamically but it's the same problem). You should use a proper structure. in this case - a dict looks OK. The key would be the thermistor name, e.g. "0.1K1A" and the value will be the list - [1.942952*10**-3, 2.989769*10**-4, 3.504383*10**-7]

You can go further and instead of list use namedtuple (these are fixed values, fixed-len lists, right?). This is short of creating custom class, but makes it much better, no magic numbers (e.g. I don't know what 1.942952*10**-3 represents).


In the example I stick to list of devices but implement devices as namedtuple

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from collections import namedtuple   Device = namedtuple('Device', 'part_no coef_a coef_b coef_c')   devices = [     Device('0.1K1A', 1.942952*10**-3, 2.989769*10**-4, 3.504383*10**-7),  # 0.1K1A     Device('0.3K1A', 1.627660*10**-3, 2.933316*10**-4, 2.870016*10**-7),  # 0.3K1A     Device('1K2A', 1.373168*10**-3, 2.772261*10**-4, 1.997412*10**-7),  # 1K2A     Device('1K7A', 1.446059*10**-3, 2.683626*10**-4, 1.643561*10**-7),  # 1K7A     Device('2K3A', 1.498872*10**-3, 2.379047*10**-4, 1.066953*10**-7),  # 2K3A     Device('2.K3A', 1.471388*10**-3, 2.376138*10**-4, 1.051058*10**-7),  # 2.2K3A     Device('3K3A', 1.405027*10**-3, 2.369386*10**-4, 1.012660*10**-7),  # 3K3A     Device('5K3A', 1.287450*10**-3, 2.357394*10**-4, 9.505200*10**-8),  # 5K3A     Device('10K3A', 1.129241*10**-3, 2.341077*10**-4, 8.775468*10**-8),  # 10K3A     Device('10K4A', 1.028444*10**-3, 2.392435*10**-4, 1.562216*10**-7),  # 10K4A     Device('30K5A', 9.331754*10**-4, 2.213978*10**-4, 1.263817*10**-7),  # 30K5A     Device('30K6A', 1.068981*10**-3, 2.120700*10**-4, 9.019537*10**-8),  # 30K6A     Device('50K6A', 9.657154*10**-4, 2.106840*10**-4, 8.585481*10**-8),  # 50K6A     Device('100K6A', 8.271111*10**-4, 2.088020*10**-4, 8.059200*10**-8),  # 100K6A     Device('1M9A', 7.402387*10**-4, 1.760865*10**-4, 6.865999*10**-8)]  # 1M9A     for idx, device in enumerate(devices, start=1):     print(f'{idx: >2d}.{device.part_no}') user_choice = int(input(f'Select device (1-{len(devices)}): ')) - 1   device = devices[user_choice] print(device) print(device.part_no) print(device.coef_b)

Output:
 1.0.1K1A
 2.0.3K1A
 3.1K2A
 4.1K7A
 5.2K3A
 6.2.K3A
 7.3K3A
 8.5K3A
 9.10K3A
10.10K4A
11.30K5A
12.30K6A
13.50K6A
14.100K6A
15.1M9A
Select device (1-15): 13
Device(part_no='50K6A', coef_a=0.0009657154, coef_b=0.00021068400000000002, coef_c=8.585481e-08)
50K6A
0.00021068400000000002

[deanhystad]

For something like this I would use a dictionary or database depending on if the device list is fixed or fluid. This is an example of using a dictionary.

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devices = {     "0.1K1A":[1.942952*10**-3, 2.989769*10**-4, 3.504383*10**-7],     "0.3K1A":[1.627660*10**-3, 2.933316*10**-4, 2.870016*10**-7],     "1K2A"  :[1.373168*10**-3, 2.772261*10**-4, 1.997412*10**-7],     "1K7A"  :[1.446059*10**-3, 2.683626*10**-4, 1.643561*10**-7],     "2K3A"  :[1.498872*10**-3, 2.379047*10**-4, 1.066953*10**-7],     "2.2K3A":[1.471388*10**-3, 2.376138*10**-4, 1.051058*10**-7],     "3K3A"  :[1.405027*10**-3, 2.369386*10**-4, 1.012660*10**-7],     "5K3A"  :[1.287450*10**-3, 2.357394*10**-4, 9.505200*10**-8],     "10K3A" :[1.129241*10**-3, 2.341077*10**-4, 8.775468*10**-8],     "10K4A" :[1.028444*10**-3, 2.392435*10**-4, 1.562216*10**-7],     "30K5A" :[9.331754*10**-4, 2.213978*10**-4, 1.263817*10**-7],     "30K6A" :[1.068981*10**-3, 2.120700*10**-4, 9.019537*10**-8],     "50K6A" :[9.657154*10**-4, 2.106840*10**-4, 8.585481*10**-8],     "100K6A":[8.271111*10**-4, 2.088020*10**-4, 8.059200*10**-8],     "1M9A"  :[7.402387*10**-4, 1.760865*10**-4, 6.865999*10**-8] }   def select_device():     while True:         for index, name in enumerate(devices):             print(f'{index+1:2d}: {name}')         name = input('Enter device name or number : ').upper()           if not name in devices:             try:                 name = list(devices.keys())[int(name)]             except:                 pass           dev = devices.get(name, None)         if dev is not None:             return name, dev   print(select_device())

[alloydog]

Thanks for the detailed solutions!

I will give each of them a try and see how they work and for tidying up the exponentials. Also, I wasn't sure how to format exponentials and *10**N worked

buran - Yes, from various webby-searches looking into the problem, I got the idea that is was not a good idea, but I had tried various things, using dict, tuples and so on, but hadn't got anywhere. I did not know how to deal with it using the solutions (whiles, ifs and what-nots) you guys presented.

I now have several methods to play with, so I'll crawl back into my pit for a few days and let you know how it worked out then.

Cheers!

[alloydog]

1 2 3

for idx, device in enumerate(devices, start=1):     print(f'{idx: >2d}.{device.part_no}') user_choice = int(input(f'Select device (1-{len(devices)}): ')) - 1

I'm going through the various replies and solutions bit by bit (I want understand what each bit does, rather than just copy/paste and say "yee ha!" it works...)

From the namedtuple solution from @buran - I pretty much get what each bit does, except >2d. I even removed : >2d from the script, ran it and it worked pretty much the same.

What does the : >2d bit do?

[bowlofred]

This is a format specification. Format spec mini-language

> - Right aligned
2 - Min field width
d - Numeric decimal

[buran]

What does the : >2d bit do?

As pointed by @bowlofred, it's a string formatting.

it worked pretty much the same

The only purpose in this case is pure presentation - the menu items are aligned so that dot is in one column (i.e. numbering is right-aligned)

---

I want understand what each bit does, rather than just copy/paste and say "yee ha!" it works...

that's the correct attitude and the reason why forum exists in the first place :-)

[alloydog]

Thanks!