Convert nested Python dict to object?

Question

I'm searching for an elegant way to get data using attribute access on a dict with some nested dicts and lists (i.e. javascript-style object syntax).

For example:

>>> d = {'a': 1, 'b': {'c': 2}, 'd': ["hi", {'foo': "bar"}]}

Should be accessible in this way:

>>> x = dict2obj(d)
>>> x.a
1
>>> x.b.c
2
>>> x.d[1].foo
bar

I think, this is not possible without recursion, but what would be a nice way to get an object style for dicts?

Answer 1

Update: In Python 2.6 and onwards, consider whether the namedtuple data structure suits your needs:

>>> from collections import namedtuple
>>> MyStruct = namedtuple('MyStruct', 'a b d')
>>> s = MyStruct(a=1, b={'c': 2}, d=['hi'])
>>> s
MyStruct(a=1, b={'c': 2}, d=['hi'])
>>> s.a
1
>>> s.b
{'c': 2}
>>> s.c
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
AttributeError: 'MyStruct' object has no attribute 'c'
>>> s.d
['hi']

The alternative (original answer contents) is:

class Struct:
    def __init__(self, **entries):
        self.__dict__.update(entries)

Then, you can use:

>>> args = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
>>> s = Struct(**args)
>>> s
<__main__.Struct instance at 0x01D6A738>
>>> s.a
1
>>> s.b
2