Can XML-RPC methods be called by name (as strings) in Python?

Question

In python, calling XML-RPC methods involves invoking methods on a proxy object:

from xmlrpclib import ServerProxy
print ServerProxy('https://example.com/rpc').api.hello_there('John')

In some other languages, like perl, you pass your method name as a method parameter.

use Frontier::Client;
$p = Frontier::Client->new(url => 'https://example.com/rpc');
$result = $p->call('api.hello_there', 'John');
print $result;

Is there a way to invoke XML-RPC methods by name, as strings, in Python?

Glenn Maynard · Answer 1 · 2010-12-21T18:29:21.747

4

Just use getattr, as with any Python object.

func = getattr(ServerProxy('https://example.com/rpc'), "api.hello_there")
print func('John')

edited Dec 21 '10 at 18:29

answered Dec 21 '10 at 18:23

Glenn Maynard

You can't use getattr with dotted names; think you'd need getattr(getattr(..., 'api'), 'hello_there'). – Nicholas Riley Dec 21 '10 at 18:33
Maybe it works in this particular case; it doesn't work with Python objects in general (the "as with any Python object" part of your answer). – Nicholas Riley Dec 21 '10 at 19:27
I think that this wouldn't work in general, but xmlrpclib.ServerProxy overrides __getattr__ in a way that makes this work correctly. Thanks! – Wedgwood Dec 21 '10 at 19:50

1 Answers1