inspecting python classes

inspect.py

def get_property_or_default(obj, prefix):
    # If any of the properties defined on this object match the prefix, return
    # the value of that property.
    for key, value in obj.__dict__.iteritems():
        if key.startswith(prefix):
            return value
    # Otherwise, we check that there is exactly one property, and return that
    assert len(obj.__dict__) == 1
    return value

def get_property_or_default(obj, prefix):
    # a more functional/obtuse way of doing it
    match = filter(lambda k: k.startswith(prefix), obj.__dict__)
    if len(match) > 0:
        return obj.__dict__.get(start[0])
    else:
        return obj.__dict__.values()[0]