Making a list (or iterable) of variables refer to the variables [Python]-CodePudding

Is there a way in Python (preferably 3.6 ) to make a list made from variables to refer the variables themselves, and not their values?

An example:

a, b, c = 1, 2, 3
l = [a, b, c]
print(l)
# Outputs: [1, 2, 3]
# I want: [a, b, c]
# Not preferred but acceptable: ['a', 'b', 'c']

Is this even possible? I'm using python 3.8.

In response to the comments: Any iterable is acceptable. I actually have a similar question on how to delete a variable given it's name as a string, but that's a topic for another question. This does relate to that though, so I decided to check if it was possible.

CodePudding user response：

In Python, variables are internally stored in dictionary. Through these dictionaries, you can access and delete variables by giving their names as strings. Example:

a, b, c = 1, 2, 3
names = ['a', 'b', 'c']

for name in names:
    print(globals()[name])

print(a)
del globals()['a']
print(a) # a has been removed

Use globals() for global variables, locals() for local variables or object.__dict__ for object members.

CodePudding user response：

Still not sure what your use case is, but a dictionary might be a good fit:

d = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

l = ['a', 'b', 'c']
# or 
# l = list(d.keys())