Initialise class object by name

Question

Since everything in python is an object, i was wondering if there was a way i could initialise a class object using the name of the class

for example,

class Foo:
    """Class Foo"""

How could i access this class by "Foo", ie something like c = get_class("Foo")

possible duplicate of [Does python have an equivalent to Java Class.forName()?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/452969/does-python-have-an-equivalent-to-java-class-forname) — mikej, Oct 27 '10 at 07:57

score 45 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 27 '10 at 07:58

45

If the class is in your scope:

get_class = lambda x: globals()[x]

If you need to get a class from a module, you can use getattr:

import urllib2
handlerClass = getattr(urllib2, 'HTTPHandler')

answered Oct 27 '10 at 07:58

Brian McKenna

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Since this uses getattr, i could use this for a function object also right? – zsquare Oct 27 '10 at 08:00
1

For a quick note, to get an instance of the class it would need to be globals()[x](). – Hazok Jun 13 '13 at 06:50

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 13 '12 at 19:33

2

Have you heard of the inspect module?

Check out this snippet I found.

edited Nov 13 '12 at 19:33

Michael Mior

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answered Oct 27 '10 at 08:00

jknair

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-1: OP wants to get a class by name, not list all classes names. – MestreLion Aug 27 '14 at 13:11

score -2 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 13 '12 at 19:34

I think your searching reflection see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_%28computer_science%29#Python

Or a better Example from the german wikipedia:

>>> # the object
>>> class Person(object):
...    def __init__(self, name):
...        self.name = name
...    def say_hello(self):
...        return 'Hallo %s!' % self.name
...
>>> ute = Person('Ute')
>>> # direct
>>> print ute.say_hello()
Hallo Ute!
>>> # Reflexion
>>> m = getattr(ute, 'say_hello')()
>>> # (equals ute.say_hello())
>>> print m
Hallo Ute!

from http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexion_%28Programmierung%29#Beispiel_in_Python

Your link and/or example do not answer the question at all. – Asclepius Jul 10 '12 at 20:08 — Asclepius, Jul 10 '12 at 20:08

Initialise class object by name

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