Is it possible to print a function as a string in Python?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Can Python print a function definition?

In Javascript, it is possible to print a function's code as a string?

Example in Javascript:

function thisFunctionPrintsItself(){
    return thisFunctionPrintsItself.toString();
}

Is it possible to do the same in Python?

@olly_uk I have tried it in Javascript, but not in Python. – Anderson Green Aug 12 '12 at 20:45 — Anderson Green, Aug 12 '12 at 20:45

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 12 '12 at 20:44

3

You can do it, but the result isn't useful since everything is compiled to bytecode first.

def printItself():
    print repr(printItself.func_code.co_code)

You can also use the dis module for disassembly, but the results aren't garuenteed to be portable.

def disassembleItself():
    print __import__('dis').dis(disassembleItself)

answered Aug 12 '12 at 20:44

Antimony

37,781
10
100
107

This is what I got for the first function output: 't\x00\x00t\x01\x00j\x02\x00j\x03\x00\x83\x01\x00GHd\x00\x00S' – Anderson Green Aug 12 '12 at 20:48
@Anderson - exactly, it's compiled to bytecode. – Antimony Aug 12 '12 at 20:49
Is it possible to actually print the function's source code, as in Javascript? – Anderson Green Aug 12 '12 at 20:49
Wait... the other answer explains this. :) – Anderson Green Aug 12 '12 at 20:51
It's possible in some cases, but only if the source is available. Also, it won't work if the definition is changed at run time. – Antimony Aug 12 '12 at 20:53

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 12 '12 at 20:49

1

def foo ():
    import inspect
    return inspect.getsource(foo)

print (foo())

Here, the inspect module reads the source files, so it won't work if they're missing (and just the .pyc or .pyo modules are being used) or the function was compiled on-the-fly, in the interactive interpreter or otherwise.

answered Aug 12 '12 at 20:49

tjollans

717
4
18

Is it possible to write a function that can take another function as a parameter, and then print the function's source? – Anderson Green Aug 12 '12 at 21:47
That's exactly what `inspect.getsource` does. – tjollans Aug 12 '12 at 21:49

Is it possible to print a function as a string in Python?

2 Answers2

Linked