Reducing variable name duplication when using os.getenv

Question

I'm frequently finding myself writing repetitive-feeling code in the style below (as it happens, inside a Django settings.py, but the question is meant much more generally):

STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID = os.getenv('STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID')
STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv('STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET')
# et cetera

Naturally there are plenty of occasions where I don't want my local variable name to match the name of the environment variable, but it's happening enough that I'm wondering if there's a nice way to avoid the name duplication.

The below code works for me:

_locals = locals()
def f(x):
    _locals[x] = os.getenv(x)

f('TERM')

print TERM

but I have no intention of using this in production, as, to quote the Python documentation on locals():

Note: The contents of this dictionary should not be modified;

so I'm wondering if there exists a valid "supported"/"approved" solution, and if so, what it might look like?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:34:49Z

4

Referencing: How to programmatically set a global (module) variable?

import sys, os

opts = (
    'STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID', 
    'STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET'
)

module = sys.modules[__name__]
for o in opts:
    setattr(module, o, os.getenv(o))

In the comments of that referenced answer, it links to another that suggests globals() is reliable for updating directly as well...

_g = globals()
for o in opts:
    _g[o] = os.getenv(o)

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:34

CommunityBot

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answered Apr 23, 2012 at 0:37

jdi

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1 Comment

Kristian Glass Over a year ago

That'd do it, thanks very much - had a hard time trying to find the right vocabulary for what I wanted to do, so totally missed the other question

snim2 · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-23 00:44:06Z

0

I guess, it's partly a matter of taste, but I would tend to put these in a dictionary, so:

STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID = os.getenv('STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID')
STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv('STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET')

would become:

envars['STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID'] = os.getenv('STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_ID')
envars['STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET'] = os.getenv('STACKEXCHANGE_CLIENT_SECRET')

Or, you could just use the os.environ dictionary directly.

answered Apr 23, 2012 at 0:44

snim2

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2 Comments

jdi Over a year ago

This would totally work in a general case. Unfortunately the OP mentions the settings.py of a django project which is expecting them to be global variables. Kinda has him by the ghoulies on this one.

Kristian Glass Over a year ago

Yeah I was perhaps insufficiently clear with my requirements, I just didn't want it to be interpreted too narrowly as a Django-related question, but the global-ness is definitely a requirement; thanks though

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