Python - Iterating over Arguments passed to a Function

Question

Suppose I have the following example:

class foo:
   ...
   def bar(self, w, x, y, z, ...):
      self.w = w
      self.x = x
      self.y = y
      self.z = z
      ...

I wish to reduce the n-number of attribute assignment lines in bar() to one assignment line set using a setattr() cycle through the arguments. Is there a good way to cycle through said arguments for this purpose?

I wish to retain the defined parameter names so as to limit the number of parameters passed to the function as well as the order in which they are passed. I also understand that functions can be handled like objects; so is it possible to obtain a list of the defined parameters as an attribute of the function and iterate through that?

Answer 1

Use locals() and you can get all the arguments (and any other local variables):

class foo:
    def bar(self, w, x, y, z):
        argdict = {arg: locals()[arg] for arg in ('w', 'x', 'y', 'z')}
        for key, value in argdict.iteritems():
            setattr(self, key, value)
        ...

Might be possible to do it more efficiently, and you could inline argdict if you prefer less lines to readability or find it more readable that way.