[mod_python] determining type of fieldStorage dictionary value?

Josh Whiting wrote:
> according to the mod_python documentation section 4.6.1, 
> fieldStorage is 
> a dictionary-like object in which keys are the form input 
> names and the 
> values can be:
> 
> 1. An instance of StringField, containing the form input 
> value. This is 
> only when there is a single value corresponding to the input name. 
> StringField is a subclass of str which provides the additional value 
> attribute for compatibility with standard library cgi module.
> 
> 2. An instances of a Field class, if the input is a file upload.
> 
> 3. A list of StringField and/or Field objects. This is when multiple 
> values exist, such as for a <select> HTML form element.
> 
> So how do I tell which one it is?  Even if I design my html 
> to work one way, I can't assume the input request will conform
> to that. Definately a noob question but I couldn't find an answer
> in the python docs, I assume it is in there somewhere...
> by trial and error I figured I could do this:
> 
> fields = util.fieldStorage(req)
> if str(type(fields['name'])) == "<class 
> 'mod_python.util.StringField'>":
>     # it's a single string value
>     # ...
> elif str(type(fields['name'])) == "<class 'mod_python.util.Field'>":
>     # it's a file upload
>     # ...
> else:
>     # it's a list of stringField objects
>     # ...
> 
> however, this seemed somehow incorrect to compare the output of 
> str(type(...)) to a known string value... or this is the preferred 
> method?

1. Better than checking strings is directly checking types:

if isinstance(fields['name'], mod_python.util.StringField):
    # it's a single string value
    # ...
elif isinstance(fields['name'], mod_python.util.Field):
    # it's a file upload
    # ...

See http://docs.python.org/lib/built-in-funcs.html


2. Here's my current method, using util.FieldStorage.list, to slurp all
of the form values at once:

data = util.FieldStorage(req, 1).list
if data is not None:
    for p in data:
        name = p.name
        if p.filename:
            filedata = p.file.read()
            do_something_with_file(p.filename, filedata)
        else:
            do_something_with(p.value)


Robert Brewer
MIS
Amor Ministries
fumanchu at amor.org