How to create objects on the fly in python?

Question

How do I create objects on the fly in Python? I often want to pass information to my Django templates which is formatted like this:

{'test': [a1, a2, b2], 'test2': 'something else', 'test3': 1} 

which makes the template look untidy. so I think it's better to just create an object which is like:

class testclass():     self.test = [a1,a2,b2]     self.test2 = 'someting else'     self.test3 = 1 testobj = testclass() 

so I can do:

{{ testobj.test }} {{ testobj.test2 }} {{ testobj.test3 }} 

instead of calling the dictionary.

Since I just need that object once, is it possible to create it without writing a class first? Is there any short-hand code? Is it ok to do it like that or is it bad Python?

Answer 1

You can use built-in type function:

testobj = type('testclass', (object,),                   {'test':[a1,a2,b2], 'test2':'something else', 'test3':1})() 

But in this specific case (data object for Django templates), you should use @Xion's solution.

Answer 2

In Django templates, the dot notation (testobj.test) can resolve to the Python's [] operator. This means that all you need is an ordinary dict:

testobj = {'test':[a1,a2,b2], 'test2':'something else', 'test3':1} 

Pass it as testobj variable to your template and you can freely use {{ testobj.test }} and similar expressions inside your template. They will be translated to testobj['test']. No dedicated class is needed here.