Get reference to a namespace where the function was called

Question

Is there a general way in Python 3 to get a reference to the module's namespace where the function was called? The problem arises from the fact that global in function references to the namespace where the function was defined, but I want to obtain the reference to a namespace where it was called like in languages with dynamic scope.

In reality, I want to pollute the current namespace with predefined values during an interactive session, the similar to from module import * but with the call to set_state().

from state import set_state
set_state()

The from module import * syntax is not enough because I have several configurations which are accessed like set_state(3). I know that I can pass locals() as an argument to the function. Nevertheless, I think there exists a more general solution. Also the answer should not be restricted to the current use case.

I think what you want is `inspect.currentframe().f_back.f_globals`. Don't forget to `import inspect` first. — Sraw, Jan 19 '18 at 07:59
Or `sys._getframe(1)`. Although its docstring is a bit ominous. — Paul Panzer, Jan 19 '18 at 08:07

Edwin van Mierlo · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-19T08:27:11.617

Yes you can with the inspect module, example:

test.py

import os
import sys
import inspect

def my_function():
    print ('Module/Function : ' + os.path.basename(__file__) + ' ' + sys._getframe().f_code.co_name +'()') 
    print ('Called from     : ' + os.path.basename(inspect.stack()[1][1]) +' ' + inspect.stack()[1][3] + '()' )

you can now import test from another module, and call the function.

test2.py

import test

def my_test_function():
    test.my_function()

my_test_function()

output:

Module/Function : test.py my_function()
Called from     : test.py <module>()
Module/Function : test.py my_function()
Called from     : test2.py my_test_function()

the first two are during import, the last two output lines are when you call them from test2.py

Get reference to a namespace where the function was called

1 Answers1