How to Create a List of Objects?

How do I go about creating a list of objects (class instances) in Python?

Or is this a result of bad design? I need this cause I have different objects and I need to handle them at a later stage, so I would just keep on adding them to a list and call them later.

3

7 Answers

Storing a list of object instances is very simple

class MyClass(object):
    def __init__(self, number):
        self.number = number

my_objects = []

for i in range(100):
    my_objects.append(MyClass(i))

# later

for obj in my_objects:
    print obj.number
4

You can create a list of objects in one line using a list comprehension.

class MyClass(object): pass

objs = [MyClass() for i in range(10)]

print(objs)
2

The Python Tutorial discusses how to use lists.

Storing a list of classes is no different than storing any other objects.

def MyClass(object):
    pass

my_types = [str, int, float, MyClass]

In Python, the name of the class refers to the class instance. Consider:

class A: pass
class B: pass
class C: pass

lst = [A, B, C]

# instantiate second class
b_instance = lst[1]()
print b_instance

I have some hacky answers that are likely to be terrible... but I have very little experience at this point.

a way:

class myClass():
    myInstances = []
    def __init__(self, myStr01, myStr02):
        self.myStr01 = myStr01
        self.myStr02 = myStr02
        self.__class__.myInstances.append(self)

myObj01 = myClass("Foo", "Bar")
myObj02 = myClass("FooBar",  "Baz")

for thisObj in myClass.myInstances:
    print(thisObj.myStr01)
    print(thisObj.myStr02)

A hack way to get this done:

import sys
class myClass():
    def __init__(self, myStr01, myStr02):
        self.myStr01 = myStr01
        self.myStr02 = myStr02

myObj01 = myClass("Foo", "Bar")
myObj02 = myClass("FooBar",  "Baz")

myInstances = []
myLocals = str(locals()).split("'")
thisStep = 0
for thisLocalsLine in myLocals:
    thisStep += 1
    if "myClass object at" in thisLocalsLine:
        print(thisLocalsLine)
        print(myLocals[(thisStep - 2)])
        #myInstances.append(myLocals[(thisStep - 2)])
        print(myInstances)
        myInstances.append(getattr(sys.modules[__name__], myLocals[(thisStep - 2)]))

for thisObj in myInstances:
    print(thisObj.myStr01)
    print(thisObj.myStr02)

Another more 'clever' hack:

import sys
class myClass():
    def __init__(self, myStr01, myStr02):
        self.myStr01 = myStr01
        self.myStr02 = myStr02

myInstances = []
myClasses = {
    "myObj01": ["Foo", "Bar"],
    "myObj02": ["FooBar",  "Baz"]
    }

for thisClass in myClasses.keys():
    exec("%s = myClass('%s', '%s')" % (thisClass, myClasses[thisClass][0], myClasses[thisClass][1]))
    myInstances.append(getattr(sys.modules[__name__], thisClass))

for thisObj in myInstances:
    print(thisObj.myStr01)
    print(thisObj.myStr02)

if my_list is the list that you want to store your objects in it and my_object is your object wanted to be stored, use this structure:

my_list.append(my_object)

I think what you're of doing here is using a structure containing your class instances. I don't know the syntax for naming structures in python, but in perl I could create a structure obj.id[x] where x is an incremented integer. Then, I could just refer back to the specific class instance I needed by referencing the struct numerically. Is this anything in the direction of what you're trying to do?

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David Miller

David Miller

Executive Financial & Market Analyst

David Miller brings 15 years of experience in global economics, personal finance strategy, and market dynamics. He specializes in turning complex economic trends into actionable insights for everyday readers.

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