Python getattr() built-in function

From the Python 3 documentation

Return the value of the named attribute of object. name must be a string. If the string is the name of one of the object’s attributes, the result is the value of that attribute.

Introduction

The getattr() function in Python is a built-in function that allows you to access an object’s attribute by its name, provided as a string. This is a powerful feature for dynamic programming, as it enables you to retrieve an attribute when its name is not known until runtime. You can also provide a default value to be returned if the attribute does not exist, which helps in avoiding errors.

Syntax

getattr(object, name)

or

getattr(object, name, default)

-object: The object whose attribute you want to access.

-name: The name of the attribute you want to retrieve.

-default: (Optional) The value to be returned if the attribute is not found. If not provided, None is returned.

Example

class Example:
    attribute = "Hello, World!"

# Creating an instance of the class
obj = Example()

# Using getattr to access the attribute
value = getattr(obj, 'attribute', 'Nothing found')

print(value)  # Output: Hello, World!

# If the 'attribute' does not exist then 'Nothing found' will be printed.

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