Python: Can't copy pygame surface objects

Question

I have a class:

class personInfo:
    def __init__(self,name,age,height,hairColour,face):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
        self.height = height 
        self.hairColour = hairColour
        self.face = face

I have several images here that I load in using the pygame module.

yellowFace = pygame.image.load("happy.png")
blueFace = pygame.image.load("sad.png")
redFace = pygame.image.load("angry.png")

I created an array that holds instances of that class. Here I am populating it.

personArray = []
while len(array) != 10:
    personArray.append(personClass("John",32,6,"Blond",yellowFace))

I would like to store the actual variables of that class (name, age height,hairColour, etc) in a variable I will call "personStorage". However, I can't have that var be mutatable since I need to access that var's values and change them. Doing this can't change the values of any instances inside the personArray. How would I do this?

EDIT: I also can't seem to be able to Copy this class because I get a type error that says: "can't pickle pygame.surface objects" since I have a value of a surface object within that class.

Do you mean something like `personStorage = ("John", 32, 6, "Brown"); personClass(*personStorage)`? — chepner, Apr 09 '19 at 16:31
It would be more like personStorage = personArray[2] which would give me the values of what that specific instance has so I can then change them. For example I could do personStorage.name = "Rick" for example. The problem I have is that personArray[2]'s name var is changed to "Rick", instead of the default value of "John" — Hydra, Apr 09 '19 at 16:33
So you basically need a copy of the `personInfo` instance, not just a reference to it? Implement `personInfo.__copy__` as described by the `copy` module, then use `personStorage = copy.copy(personArray[2])`. (`deepcopy` might be necessary, depending on your circumstances.) — chepner, Apr 09 '19 at 16:41
Yes, that's essentially what I need. Then I would like to change a particular instance in the array. For example personArray[2] = personStorage. Just as an example. — Hydra, Apr 09 '19 at 16:44
If you are going to assign the modified copy back to the same slot, why not just modify the original in-place? I'm just trying to be clear about what it is you actually *need*. — chepner, Apr 09 '19 at 16:44
In the future the values in the class will hold various images/surfaces. In pygame I would to blit that image to the screen. The Var personStorage needs to be a different image that the rest of the images in the overall array, which is why I need that variable personStorage. — Hydra, Apr 09 '19 at 16:50
Possible duplicate of [How to clone or copy a list?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2612802/how-to-clone-or-copy-a-list) — filipe, Apr 09 '19 at 17:11

A.N. O'Nyme · Answer 1 · 2019-04-09T16:42:43.773

1

If I understood what you're trying to do :

class PersonInfo:
    def __init__(self,name,age,height,hairColour):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
        self.height = height 
        self.hairColour = hairColour
    def toList(self):
        return [self.name, self.age, self.height, self.hairColour]

By the way, class names' first letter is always uppercase.

EDIT : To achieve what you're trying to do :

    old = PersonInfo("old", 1, 2, "blue")
    new = PersonInfo(*old.toList())
    new.name = "new"
    print(old.name) #'old'

edited Apr 09 '19 at 16:42

answered Apr 09 '19 at 16:34

A.N. O'Nyme

141
4

That's not exactly what I meant. I meant creating an entirely new var that I could change, however, it's vars would be accessed from a particular instance in the class array. For example, personStorage = personArray[2]. I want to change the values that personStorage has without changing the values of personArray. – Hydra Apr 09 '19 at 16:37
OK ! I edited my answer so it matches what you're trying to do. – A.N. O'Nyme Apr 09 '19 at 16:43
What if I have a pygame surface object value in that class? I edited the original question to match this problem. Because using this method I am getting a TypeError that says: "can't pickle pygame.Surface objects" – Hydra Apr 13 '19 at 15:46

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 25 '21 at 03:19

0

I have created setters and getters to get the data.Also you can create a copy of the instance that holds the data.

from copy import deepcopy
class PersonInfo:
    def __init__(self,name,age,height,hairColour):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
        self.height = height 
        self.hairColour = hairColour

x = PersonInfo("Mario",34,1.70,"blue")

print(x.height)  # prints 1.70

x1 = deepcopy(x)

print(x1.age)

edited Oct 25 '21 at 03:19

KetZoomer

2,701
3
15
43

answered Apr 09 '19 at 16:46

Marios Nikolaou

1,326
1
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24

This is just verbose boilerplate that doesn't prevent the kind of inadvertent modifications the OP is concerned about. – chepner Apr 09 '19 at 16:48
@chepner fixed. – Marios Nikolaou Apr 09 '19 at 16:54
OK, now the getters and setters are just unnecessary boilerplate. Get rid of them. – chepner Apr 09 '19 at 16:54

filipe · Answer 3 · 2019-04-09T17:02:43.427

Use the copy module:

The function copy() shallow copy operation on arbitrary Python objects.

import copy


class PersonInfo:
    def __init__(self, name, age, height, hair_colour):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age
        self.height = height
        self.hairColour = hair_colour


personArray = []
for x in range(20, 24):
    personArray.append(PersonInfo("John", x, 6, "Brown"))


personStorage = copy.copy(personArray[2])
personStorage.name = "Ana"

print("\rpersonArray[2].name is %s\n"
      "\rpersonStorage.name is %s"
      % (personArray[2].name, personStorage.name))

Python: Can't copy pygame surface objects

3 Answers3