Python - Is it possible to refer to multiple different variables using different variable?

Question

Sorry if the title is confusing but I couldn't think of a better way to word it. I'm making a game with a friendship system and this is essentially what I'm trying to do:

playerChar = "Adam";
opinion_[playerChar]_Betty = 20;

so that later I can check

if opinion_Adam_Betty == 20;

playerChar could be set to Adam, Betty, or Carmen.

So if playerChar was set to Adam, then opinion_[playerChar]_Betty and opinion_Adam_Betty would actually refer to the same variable, but if playerChar was set to Carmen, opinion_[playerChar]_Betty would be referring to the variable opinion_Carmen_Betty instead, and no longer be the same variable as opinion_Adam_Betty.

In essence, I want opinion_[playerChar]_Betty to be able to refer to different variables depending on what the variable playerChar is set to. Not sure if this is possible or not (or if I'm just overcomplicating things) but it would make some things super convenient for me if it were.

The short answer: no, you cannot create a variable name from another variable's value. Instead you should use an appropriate data structure, most likely a dictionary or maybe a class. See the answers to the questions linked at the top of this page for further suggestions and discussion. — Code-Apprentice, Oct 20 '21 at 16:01
No, opinion.Adam.Betty would have a separate value from opinion.Betty.Adam — Questionnaire, Oct 20 '21 at 16:01

Samwise · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-20T16:03:52.573

2

Sounds like you want to use nested dictionaries. Using defaultdict specifically saves you a bunch of init work:

from collections import defaultdict

opinion = defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(int))

playerChar = "Adam"
opinion[playerChar]["Betty"] = 20

if opinion["Adam"]["Betty"] == 20:
    print("Adam likes Betty <3")

if opinion["Betty"]["Adam"] < 20:
    print("it's not mutual tho </3")

edited Oct 20 '21 at 16:03

answered Oct 20 '21 at 15:51

Samwise

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Thank you so much, that's exactly what I needed!! I'm still really new to Python and I had no idea dictionaries could be used in that way – Questionnaire Oct 20 '21 at 16:08

Python - Is it possible to refer to multiple different variables using different variable?

1 Answers1