How to get the value of a variable through a string?
Example:
dog = 1
cat = 2
animal = 'dog'
What to do to transform the animal variable into 1?
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Karl Knechtel
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2Does this answer your question? [How to get the value of a variable given its name in a string?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9437726/how-to-get-the-value-of-a-variable-given-its-name-in-a-string) – Madhawa Priyashantha Jun 12 '20 at 19:11
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2*Why* do you need to do this? – Scott Hunter Jun 12 '20 at 19:12
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Why don't you simply use assignment i.e. animal=1? – Ritika Gupta Jun 12 '20 at 19:42
2 Answers
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Use eval function:
eval(animal) # =1
Omri Levi
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[**Do not ever use `eval` (or `exec`) on data that could possibly come from outside the program in any form. It is a critical security risk. You allow the author of the data to run arbitrary code on your computer.**](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1832940/why-is-using-eval-a-bad-practice) – Karl Knechtel Jul 05 '22 at 02:01
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One option is eval, which comes with the caveat that you should never use it with user-supplied input because they could execute arbitrary commands.
Simon Crane
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