----- Original Message ----- From: "Oleg Broytmann" <phd@phd.fep.ru> To: "Jason Cunliffe" <jasonic@nomadicsltd.com> Cc: <python-list@python.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 6:42 AM Subject: Re: converting string to dict ?

On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Jason Cunliffe wrote:

...

A web input form passes {'name':'Cleopatra'} as a string. Please, is there a nice clean function to convert this string to a dict?

"eval"

Please, please send me your URL - I will hack you through your call to the eval! :))) Seriously, do not trust ANYTHING from the web. Do not convert things into objects, do not eval them - NEVER!

ok +Thanks! But seriously seriously please explain... I am passing data between Zope and Flash5. My impression that used well, Flash is much more secure than HTML/Javscript pages. There are ways to catch, open up and parse .swf files, but it is much less inviting.. Flash5's ActionsScript loadVariables() function accepts urlencoded Python dicts via 'POST' using a Python External Method. For example: #external method import urllib def gettext(self): #print "gettext" params = urllib.urlencode({'message': 'This is message from Zope?','name':'Zope Lover','status':'done'}) return params It works the other way too :-) #external method def puttext(self): #print 'puttext' v1 = self.REQUEST['v1'] v2 = self.REQUEST['v2'] newdict = {'v1':v1, 'v2':v2} print newdict return urllib.urlencode({'newdict':newdict}) where v1 and v2 are my variables in Flash So then I tried to do it all again in a Zope PythonScript, with thanks to Duncan Booth for How-To PythonScript urlencode tip: ## Script(Python) py_gettext ##parameterlist dict={'message': 'Do you understand now?','name':'Zope Lover','status':'done'} ##body def urlencode(dict): """Encode a dictionary of form entries into a URL query string.""" from Products.PythonScripts.standard import url_quote_plus from string import join l = [] for k, v in dict.items(): k = url_quote_plus(str(k)) v = url_quote_plus(str(v)) l.append(k + '=' + v) return join(l, '&') params = urlencode This works ok until I try to manipulate the contents of 'dict' paraemter directly via teh PythonScript 'test interface or from a typical DTML Method such as: <form action = "py_gettext" method="post"> enter dict here to test Py_gettext: <input type="text" name="dict":list size="40" value=""> <div class="form-element"> <input class="form-element" type="submit" name="SUBMIT" value="Save Changes"> </form> Error Type: AttributeError Error Value: 'string' object has no attribute 'items' ..snip.. File D:\Program Files\Zsite231\lib\python\Products\PythonScripts\PythonScript.py, line 336, in _exec (Object: py_gettext) (Info: ({'script': <PythonScript instance at 014B53D0>, 'context': <Folder instance at 014B5E90>, 'container': <Application instance at 014A1260>, 'traverse_subpath': []}, ("{'name':'Jason'}",), {}, ({'message': 'Do you understand now?', 'name': 'Zope Lover', 'status': 'done'},))) File Script (Python), line 13, in py_gettext File <string>, line 7, in urlencode AttributeError: (see above) My conclusion thus far is that I should stick with External Python Methods and be happy. But I have this peverse curiosity to make it work in Python Script also. The Docs say that eval() is not allowed in Scipts(Python). Is this the trouble I am having? Any ideas? Beynod the learning excerise, the main reason I want to get PythonScripts running smoothly for Python dict i/o was so that I could call the various methods ZPythonScript_edit(params, body): ZScriptHTML_tryParams(self): etc thus creating a Flash-driven interface to Zope. Ther are many aspects of Flash which mirror Zope's object-oriented container/context paradigm. So in those resepcts it makes an ideal user interface toolkit. Plus one can reduce pointless client-server exchanges or clunky HTML screen redraw and flashing.. much smoother usability. {Don't you just hate the way Zope has chronic display hiccups?:: blink blink pause +big white screen with little OK! sign::::>> doh{there must be a better way}} cheers - Jason ___________________________________________________________ Jason CUNLIFFE = NOMADICS['Interactive Art and Technology']