Change variable values with similar names in function

Question

I have different valued variables not in an array; e.g.

a = "united states"
b = "canada" 
c = "mexico"

I also have similarly named variables with the same suffix

a_pop = 0
b_pop = 0
c_pop = 0

I have made a function to select randomly a, b or c, but is there any way to edit the value of {selected value}_pop (if a then edit a_pop's value, b to b_pop etc.) in a function without changing the previous variables of or using an tedious if/else ladder?

For example, a is selected. Now (with a selected) I want to add 1 to a_pop's value.

Short answer: you really don't want to do that, use a dict instead. — Thierry Lathuille, Jan 27 '19 at 08:12
Also: [Using a string variable as a variable name](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11553721/using-a-string-variable-as-a-variable-name) — Georgy, Jan 27 '19 at 09:48

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 27 '19 at 10:03

2

A little different from your original code, but more Pythonic:

names = {
    'a' : "united states"
    'b' : "canada" 
    'c' : "mexico"
}

values = {
    'a' : 0
    'b' : 0
    'c' : 0
}

Picking a random variable var...

values[var] += 1

Hope it's clear how this works for your needs. If not feel free to ask for clarification.

edited Jan 27 '19 at 10:03

deceze

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answered Jan 27 '19 at 08:38

Josh Friedlander

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Change variable values with similar names in function

1 Answers1