Accessing variable field/column in a raw

Question

I like to access variable columns/fields of a row in SQL, how can it be done? For example, in web2py x = db(db.table.name=="john").select().last().job1 will give you the job field of the row where name equal "john". But let's say I want to choose other field/column for x in another condition like

if conditon1:
  column = job1
if condition2: 
  column = job2
x = db(db.table.name=="john").select().last().column

how can I do this?

Answer 1

row objects can be accessed like dictionaries, so you can do:

x = db(db.table.name=="john").select().last()[column]

Answer 2

Use the built-in python getattr() function

if conditon1:
  column = "job1"
if condition2: 
  column = "job2"
x = getattr(db(db.table.name=="john").select().last(), column, "Not Found")