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For an external application I need to send a command as a string, like this:

["START", "1", "2", "3", "4", "STOP"]

Note the double quotes!

I create this command with the following function:

def create_command(amount):
    command = ["START"]
    list = create_list(amount)
    command += list
    command += ["STOP"]
    command = str(command ) 
    command = command.replace("\'", "\"")
    return command

And I create a list from a given number with the following function:

def create_list(data):
    list = []
    data = str(data)
    for letter in data:
        list.append(letter)
    return list

Is the a way to make both functions more pythonic and not so straightforward? I don't really like them now, they look a bit clumpsy and I think there must be a better way do the thing.

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3 Answers 3

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create_list is building a list of all the items in the string form of data. And so you can change it to:

def create_list(data):
    return list(str(data))

I find it easier to read create_command if you merge some of the lines together:

def create_command(amount):
    command = ["START"] + create_list(amount) + ["STOP"]
    return str(command).replace("\'", "\"")

And so you can merge the above two changes together:

def create_command(amount):
    command = ["START"] + list(str(amount)) + ["STOP"]
    return str(command).replace("\'", "\"")

Expanding further, rather than using str.replace you can use json.dumps to format the list. This has the benefit that it will escape ' and " characters for you, which your code doesn't correctly handle. (Thanks Mathias)

import json


def create_command(amount):
    command = ["START"] + list(str(amount)) + ["STOP"]
    return json.dumps(command)
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    \$\begingroup\$ You could also make composing the list a bit neater using iterable unpacking: ["START", *str(amount), "STOP"] (available since Python 3.5). \$\endgroup\$ Jul 5, 2018 at 16:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Why on Earth is json buried at the bottom of your answer? \$\endgroup\$
    – jpmc26
    Jul 6, 2018 at 0:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ @jpmc26 because my primary purpose is to review the code, and so I work my way up to the best code. It wouldn't make sense to go the other way. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peilonrayz
    Jul 6, 2018 at 1:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ It makes sense for the best code to be the first thing a reader sees so that they don't get confused about where you're headed. It also makes it harder to miss the best code when doing an initial skim. \$\endgroup\$
    – jpmc26
    Jul 6, 2018 at 18:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ @jpmc26 what you're suggesting sounds like you want me to promote people to just steal my code and not learn anything. I want people to learn something, and so won't make you suggested changes. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peilonrayz
    Jul 6, 2018 at 18:56
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Don't overshadow built in functions

list is already a built in. When you would try to use list() later on you'd get an Error.

Alternative

You need to send a string. Instead of creating a list and then converting to a string you can build the string from the start.

def create_list(data):
    return ', '.join(['"{}"'.format(c) for c in str(data)])

def create_cmd(data):
    return '["START", {}, "STOP"]'.format(create_list(data))
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  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh, thanks! I don't actually use list as a name, I just changed the variable names for the question and absolutely forgot that there is a function with this name. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alex.S
    Jul 5, 2018 at 12:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ Eh. list is an obvious name, and shadowing names in a small scope isn’t at all problematic. I agree with the rest of your answer. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 5, 2018 at 16:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ @KonradRudolph Sure in this small scope it doesn't really matter, but it is not a good habit to get into. And is worth mentioning at a code review \$\endgroup\$
    – Ludisposed
    Jul 5, 2018 at 16:22
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The python json.dumps function from stdlib can do this for you.

from json import dumps
result = build_your_list()  # ['a', 'b']
dumps(result)  # '["a", "b"]'

EDIT: I only just noticed that using this was recommended at the bottom of an already existing answer - but I think this deserves a full answer. I consider it much cleaner than the potentially inaccurate string manipulation answers.

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