Programming Forums > Script Programming > Python

Primusville · Aug 16th, 2007, 12:17 AM

Well, I recently got back into Yu-Gi-Oh cards (the show sucks, but the game is actually fun) as just another way to pass time. Anyway, it gave me the idea to write a Yu-Gi-Oh TCG game in Python. Just command line to start with, maybe with graphics later. My problem is, I want to use text files as databases to hold card information so that I can easily add new cards, but I can't think of a good way to input the file in Python and then make it so that each card adheres to a certain class, and is treated a a separate instance (unless there is a better way). How would I go about doing this?

Many thanks in advance.

ReggaetonKing · Aug 16th, 2007, 12:18 AM

Try using XML.

Primusville · Aug 16th, 2007, 12:20 AM

What could I do with XML that I couldn't do with a regular text file (well a lot, I'm sure, but I'm just speaking in the context of my game), and how would I implement the XML files into my program so that they adhered to a class like I want to? I don't have any previous experience with XML so I have no idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

Edit: Also, I need to make it so that the card addition process is completely automated. Would I use a for loop for this?

ReggaetonKing · Aug 16th, 2007, 12:40 AM

Imagine if you have a class, Card. This class has the following attributes:

(Toggle Plain Text)

class Card
{
	int hitPoints;
	string name;
        string[] attacks;
        ....functions and other shit goes here...
}

Now with the example above, you can read from a XML file, example:

(Toggle Plain Text)

<card>
   <name>Blue Eyes White Dragon</name>
   <hitpoints>1202020</hitpoints>
   <attacks>
      <name>Fire Spin</name>
      <name>Tail Whip</name>
   </attacks>
</card>

I do know a bit of Python but not enough to read from a XML and parse it to extract all of that information. I'm sure someone here could help with that. But if you see my two examples above, that could get your design started.

Primusville · Aug 16th, 2007, 12:47 AM

Thanks a million for that help; it's definitely what I needed to get started. I found a good guide on processing XML in Python, so that in conjunction with your post will help a lot.

Game_Ender · Aug 17th, 2007, 1:43 AM

You don't really have to use XML. You just need a structured data format you could use Json with the Python
simplejson library.

Here is a usage example:

 python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
import simplejson
 
# file mycards.txt
# {
# "Blue Eyes White Dragon" : {
#     "hitpoints"  : 1202020
#     "attacks" :  ["Fire Spin", "Tail Whip"]
#     }
# }
 
mycards = file("mycards.txt")
myData = simplejson.load(mycards.read())
hitpoints = myData["Blue Eyes White Dragon"]["hitpoints"]
import simplejson

# file mycards.txt
# {
# "Blue Eyes White Dragon" : {
#     "hitpoints"  : 1202020
#     "attacks" :  ["Fire Spin", "Tail Whip"]
#     }
# }

mycards = file("mycards.txt")
myData = simplejson.load(mycards.read())
hitpoints = myData["Blue Eyes White Dragon"]["hitpoints"]

XML might be a good data interchange format, but its pretty verbose, and a pain to work with by hand compared to Json and Yaml. The key is, there is no "parsing" with Json or Yaml. They are already in dict + list format. The data structure in the file exactly maps to python. No hoop jumping or awkward APIs.

Primusville · Aug 17th, 2007, 3:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Game_Ender

You don't really have to use XML. You just need a structured data format you could use Json with the Python
simplejson library.

Here is a usage example:

 python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
import simplejson
 
# file mycards.txt
# {
# "Blue Eyes White Dragon" : {
#     "hitpoints"  : 1202020
#     "attacks" :  ["Fire Spin", "Tail Whip"]
#     }
# }
 
mycards = file("mycards.txt")
myData = simplejson.load(mycards.read())
hitpoints = myData["Blue Eyes White Dragon"]["hitpoints"]
import simplejson

# file mycards.txt
# {
# "Blue Eyes White Dragon" : {
#     "hitpoints"  : 1202020
#     "attacks" :  ["Fire Spin", "Tail Whip"]
#     }
# }

mycards = file("mycards.txt")
myData = simplejson.load(mycards.read())
hitpoints = myData["Blue Eyes White Dragon"]["hitpoints"]

XML might be a good data interchange format, but its pretty verbose, and a pain to work with by hand compared to Json and Yaml. The key is, there is no "parsing" with Json or Yaml. They are already in dict + list format. The data structure in the file exactly maps to python. No hoop jumping or awkward APIs.

Thank you! That's just what I was looking for. At first XML seemed like a great idea, but then I realized the unnecessary difficulty of parsing it in Python. Thanks again for the help; now I think that I can finally get to work on my game.

Edit: I installed simplejson, and it's completely PERFECT for what I need. It works just as well as I hoped it would. Thanks once again for your assistance.

lectricpharaoh · Aug 17th, 2007, 4:03 AM

I would be very surprised if there weren't libraries to do this in Python. I've never actually used the language, but XML is so ubiquitous that it seems silly to be lacking support.

Primusville · Aug 17th, 2007, 4:22 AM

There are. In fact, newer versions of Python include them by default. They're just not practical for what I need to do. Too much work to get something so simple done.

Game_Ender · Aug 17th, 2007, 2:36 PM

Python has 3 built in XML libraries but they are either SAX or DOM based. There is a recipe on the Python cookbook that enables a similar dict/list interface to xml data but the resulting xml, is again, very awkward. I think there might be few python modules that wrap these libraries to provide a dict type interface, but why use them? For many purposes JSON is good enough, its easier to type, and has good language support.

Aug 16th, 2007, 12:17 AM	#1
Primusville Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Problem with file input Well, I recently got back into Yu-Gi-Oh cards (the show sucks, but the game is actually fun) as just another way to pass time. Anyway, it gave me the idea to write a Yu-Gi-Oh TCG game in Python. Just command line to start with, maybe with graphics later. My problem is, I want to use text files as databases to hold card information so that I can easily add new cards, but I can't think of a good way to input the file in Python and then make it so that each card adheres to a certain class, and is treated a a separate instance (unless there is a better way). How would I go about doing this? Many thanks in advance.

Aug 16th, 2007, 12:18 AM	#2
ReggaetonKing Sexy Programmer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 891 Rep Power: 3	Try using XML. __________________ I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code!

Aug 16th, 2007, 12:40 AM	#4
ReggaetonKing Sexy Programmer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 891 Rep Power: 3	Imagine if you have a class, Card. This class has the following attributes: (Toggle Plain Text) class Card { int hitPoints; string name; string[] attacks; ....functions and other shit goes here... } class Card { int hitPoints; string name; string[] attacks; ....functions and other shit goes here... } Now with the example above, you can read from a XML file, example: (Toggle Plain Text) <card> <name>Blue Eyes White Dragon</name> <hitpoints>1202020</hitpoints> <attacks> <name>Fire Spin</name> <name>Tail Whip</name> </attacks> </card> <card> <name>Blue Eyes White Dragon</name> <hitpoints>1202020</hitpoints> <attacks> <name>Fire Spin</name> <name>Tail Whip</name> </attacks> </card> I do know a bit of Python but not enough to read from a XML and parse it to extract all of that information. I'm sure someone here could help with that. But if you see my two examples above, that could get your design started. __________________ I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code!

Aug 17th, 2007, 1:43 AM	#6
Game_Ender Professional Programmer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 306 Rep Power: 3	You don't really have to use XML. You just need a structured data format you could use Json with the Python simplejson library. Here is a usage example: python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) import simplejson # file mycards.txt # { # "Blue Eyes White Dragon" : { # "hitpoints" : 1202020 # "attacks" : ["Fire Spin", "Tail Whip"] # } # } mycards = file("mycards.txt") myData = simplejson.load(mycards.read()) hitpoints = myData["Blue Eyes White Dragon"]["hitpoints"] import simplejson # file mycards.txt # { # "Blue Eyes White Dragon" : { # "hitpoints" : 1202020 # "attacks" : ["Fire Spin", "Tail Whip"] # } # } mycards = file("mycards.txt") myData = simplejson.load(mycards.read()) hitpoints = myData["Blue Eyes White Dragon"]["hitpoints"] XML might be a good data interchange format, but its pretty verbose, and a pain to work with by hand compared to Json and Yaml. The key is, there is no "parsing" with Json or Yaml. They are already in dict + list format. The data structure in the file exactly maps to python. No hoop jumping or awkward APIs. __________________ Robotics @ Maryland AUV Team - Software Lead

Aug 17th, 2007, 4:03 AM	#8
lectricpharaoh Caffeinated Neural Net Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Wet west coast of Canada Posts: 887 Rep Power: 4	I would be very surprised if there weren't libraries to do this in Python. I've never actually used the language, but XML is so ubiquitous that it seems silly to be lacking support. __________________ A man's knowledge is like an expanding sphere, the surface corresponding to the boundary between the known and the unknown. As the sphere grows, so does its surface; the more a man learns, the more he realizes how much he does not know. Hence, the most ignorant man thinks he knows it all. - L. Sprague de Camp

Aug 16th, 2007, 12:20 AM	#3
Primusville Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	What could I do with XML that I couldn't do with a regular text file (well a lot, I'm sure, but I'm just speaking in the context of my game), and how would I implement the XML files into my program so that they adhered to a class like I want to? I don't have any previous experience with XML so I have no idea. Thanks for the suggestion. Edit: Also, I need to make it so that the card addition process is completely automated. Would I use a for loop for this?

Aug 16th, 2007, 12:47 AM	#5
Primusville Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Thanks a million for that help; it's definitely what I needed to get started. I found a good guide on processing XML in Python, so that in conjunction with your post will help a lot.

Aug 17th, 2007, 4:22 AM	#9
Primusville Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	There are. In fact, newer versions of Python include them by default. They're just not practical for what I need to do. Too much work to get something so simple done.

Aug 17th, 2007, 2:36 PM	#10
Game_Ender Professional Programmer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 306 Rep Power: 3	Python has 3 built in XML libraries but they are either SAX or DOM based. There is a recipe on the Python cookbook that enables a similar dict/list interface to xml data but the resulting xml, is again, very awkward. I think there might be few python modules that wrap these libraries to provide a dict type interface, but why use them? For many purposes JSON is good enough, its easier to type, and has good language support. __________________ Robotics @ Maryland AUV Team - Software Lead

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Programming Forums > Script Programming > Python

Problem with file input