Python: Save pickled object in the python script

Question

I have a class instance which I dump in a .pickle file using pickle.dump(instance,outputfile) . I can distribute the script and the pickle file and ask users to run the python script with the pickle file as an argument, and then I can load that instance using pickle.load(pickle_file_passed_as_argument)

Can I instead "embed" the pickle file inside the script itself, and then just pass the script around? Then, when users run the script I can load the instance of the "embedded" object and use all the object's member functions?

My question is similar to:

This question

I didn't understand any of the answers given there as they're abstract descriptions of what to do, without code examples. I'm not sure how to use the triple-quote trick to embed objects (though all the answers in that question mention that). I've not used triple-quote strings like that before..

One of the answers mentions using s=pickle.dumps(objectInstance) followed by pickle.loads(s) and combine that with the triple quotes to embed the object. How exactly do I "combine" dumps,loads with the triple quotes trick, I don't get that part..

Why don't you just embed the object as ordinary Python code (e.g. by using repr to dump Python code for the instance)? It will be clearer than a giant pickle blob in your code. — nneonneo
– nneonneo, Commented Oct 22, 2015 at 19:24
@nneonneo Can you illustrate an example of doing that?.. Thanks! — sanjeev mk
– sanjeev mk, Commented Oct 22, 2015 at 19:28

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:15:44Z

3

What this answer means is to encode the data to be included with pickle and encode:

import pickle
data = dict(a=1,b=2)
pickle.dumps(data).encode('base64')

> 'KGRwMApTJ2EnCnAxCkkxCnNTJ2InCnAyCkkyCnMu\n'

and to decode it accordingly in your file to be shared from the string being written in the source code:

import pickle
# data encoded as a string
encoded_data = """KGRwMApTJ2EnCnAxCkkxCnNTJ2InCnAyCkkyCnMu\n"""

# decoding of the data
data = pickle.loads(encoded_data.decode('base64'))
print data

> {'a': 1, 'b': 2}

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:15

CommunityBot

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answered Oct 22, 2015 at 19:29

toine

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