Ed Singleton wrote:
> How can I pass a block of code to a function for it to perform within itself?
>
> For example, I wrote a small function that recurses through a
> directory structure but keeps a track of the depth:
>
> What I want to do is something like:
>
> from path import path
>
> def traverse(directory, depth=0, things_to_do()):
> thedir = path(directory)
> for item in thedir.files():
> things_to_do(depth)
> for item in thedir.dirs():
> traverse(item,depth+1)
>
> Is this possible?
Easy, actually! You almost have it.
Functions are 'first-class objects' in Python. What that means is that a
function is an object as much as a list or an integer. When you define a
function, you are actually binding the function object to the name you use in
the def. For example:
>>> def printer(x):
... print x
...
>>> printer
<function printer at 0x00A3CAF0>
The name 'printer' is now bound to a function object.
Functions can be bound to other names or passed as parameters to functions (or
stored in lists, or...). Here is a function that takes a function as a
parameter and calls the passed-in function several times:
>>> def test(fn):
... for x in [1, 2, 10]:
... fn(x)
To call this function with the printer function as a parameter is just like any
other function call:
>>> test(printer)
1
2
10
So in your case, just remove the excess parens in your function definition.
(You have to reorder the params since keyword params have to follow non-keyword
params):
def traverse(directory, things_to_do, depth=0):
Then define your things_to_do function (which can be called whatever you want)
as a function of one argument:
def do_something(depth):
print depth
and call traverse passing this as an argument:
traverse(myDir, do_something)
You also have to change the recursive call to traverse(), you must pass the
things_to_do parameter:
for item in thedir.dirs():
traverse(item,things_to_do,depth+1)
By the way this is a very powerful capability of Python. Your usage is a good
example of customizing the behaviour of a function by passing another function
as a parameter. You can also build lists or dicts of dispatch functions, wrap
functions to modify their behaviour, etc...
Kent
--
http://www.kentsjohnson.com
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