🔒 Question: Should I use a dictionary or list?

[warped badger]

What would be best to use here when returning the values of a form? I believe both would work but what is best practice?
Code is not fully complete.

import discord
from discord import app_commands
from discord.ext import commands

class UnitCreationForm(discord.ui.Modal, title='Unit Creation Form'):
  unit_name = discord.ui.TextInput(
    label="Unit Name",
    required=True,
  )
  unit_name_abr = discord.ui.TextInput( # Unit Name Abbreviated
    label="Abbreviated Unit Name",
    placeholder="For example: USAF",
    required=True,
  )
  unit_desc = discord.ui.TextInput(
    label="Unit Description",
    style=discord.TextStyle.long,
    placeholder="Please describe your unit in detail",
    required=True,
    min_length=300,
    max_length=2000,
  )
  unit_member_count = discord.ui.TextInput(
    label="How many members does your unit have?",
  )
  unit_member_activity = discord.ui.TextInput(
    label="What is your unit's activity?",
    placeholder="How many on a typical operation...",
  )
  
  async def on_submit(self, interaction: discord.Interaction) -> :
    await interaction.response.send_message(f'Thank you for submitting your unit creation form, a member of the staff team will review it within 24 hours. We hope to see {self.unit_name.value} here soon!', ephemeral=True)
    unit_data = [self.unit_name.value, self.unit_name_abr.value, self.unit_desc.value, self.unit_member_count.value, self.unit_member_activity.value]
    return unit_data

class Unit(commands.Cog):
  group = app_commands.Group(name="unit", description="Unit and military affair commands.")

  def __init__(self, bot: commands.Bot) -> None:
    self.bot = bot

  @group.command(name="create", description="This command is used to create a unit.")
  async def create(self, interaction: discord.Interaction, user: discord.User = None) -> None:
    if user is None:
      await interaction.response.send_message("User not specified. Please specify a user.", ephemeral=True)

    try:
      await interaction.user.send()

So here:

unit_data = [self.unit_name.value, self.unit_name_abr.value, self.unit_desc.value, self.unit_member_count.value, self.unit_member_activity.value]
    return unit_data

I am using a list, which would work fine but wondering if it is better to use a dictionary or not for storing and accessing the values.

[mint socket]

@warped badger

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[frozen hare]

It's up to you. It may depend upon how you wish to use the return values.

[warped badger]

Understood, just wondered if there was a best practice.

[frozen hare]

It would be usual to return results as a tuple rather than a list. It depends if you intend to change the results. But why would you want to do that?

[warped badger]

Will do! Thank you!

[frozen hare]

Instead of this

unit_data = [self.unit_name.value, self.unit_name_abr.value, self.unit_desc.value, self.unit_member_count.value, self.unit_member_activity.value]
    return unit_data

You could try this

return self.unit_name.value, 
       self.unit_name_abr.value, 
       self.unit_desc.value, 
       self.unit_member_count.value, 
       self.unit_member_activity.value

[warped badger]

Would this automatically be made into a tuple?

[frozen hare]

And unpack the results where they are received.

[coral palm]

yes

[frozen hare]

It is the commas that form the tuple, not the brackets.

[warped badger]

Ah, I understand now.

Okay, I'll do that then, saves writing out more code!

How would I access the values though?

As I would access currently like so: unit_data[1]

[frozen hare]

a, b, c = return_value

[frozen hare]

You could do that, or unpack into variables as I showed above.

[warped badger]

Thank you.

!close

[mint socket]

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