Is it possible to "dynamically" create local variables in Python?

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Chapters
00:00 Is It Possible To &Quot;Dynamically&Quot; Create Local Variables In Python?
00:33 Accepted Answer Score 9
00:53 Answer 2 Score 5
01:17 Thank you

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Full question
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8799...

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https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/lice...

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Tags
#python #variables #memory #local #instantiation

#avk47

ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 9

If you really want to do this, you could use exec:

print 'iWantAVariableWithThisName' in locals()
junkVar = 'iWantAVariableWithThisName'
exec(junkVar + " = 1")
print 'iWantAVariableWithThisName' in locals()

Of course, anyone will tell you how dangerous and hackish using exec is, but then so will be any implementation of this "trickery."

ANSWER 2

Score 5

You can play games and update locals() manually, which will sometimes work, but you shouldn't. It's specifically warned against in the docs. If I had to do this, I'd probably use exec:

>>> 'iWantAVariableWithThisName' in locals()
False
>>> junkVar = 'iWantAVariableWithThisName'
>>> exec(junkVar + '= None')
>>> 'iWantAVariableWithThisName' in locals()
True
>>> print iWantAVariableWithThisName
None

But ninety-three times out of one hundred you really want to use a dictionary instead.