Python: having trouble with for loop saving only the last object multiple times

Question

I've made the following code trying to load from a newline seperated textfile. It stores apple objects made up of colour then size then kind (each on a newline). The weird thing is that the load function works but it returns all the loaded objects as identical to the last object loaded in (but it puts the correct number of objects in the list based on the lines in the textfile. The print near the append shows the correct data being read though for each object though...

I'm not sure what is wrong and how I rectify it?

def loadInApplesTheOtherWay(filename):
   tempList = []
   #make a tempList and load apples from file into it
   with open(filename,"r") as file:
       #file goes, colour \n size \n kind \n repeat...
       lines = file.read().splitlines()
       count = 1
       newApple = apple()

       for line in lines:
           if count % 3 == 1:
              newApple.colour = line
           if count % 3 == 2:
              newApple.size = line
           if count % 3 == 0:
              newApple.kind = line

              tempList.append(newApple)
              print(newApple)
           count +=1

   return tempList

Answer 1

newApple is just a object reference.

>>> list(map(id, tempList))

The above line will show all apple is of the same id. As last modification of newApple is at the file end, so tempList are all the same as last apple object.

To make it differ, you need to deepcopy the object, such as tempList.append(copy.deepcopy(newApple))see https://docs.python.org/3/library/copy.html for more details.

Or you can create the object on the fly, you don't have to allocate newApple before for loop.

def loadInApplesTheOtherWay(filename):
   tempList = []
   #make a tempList and load apples from file into it
   with open(filename,"r") as file:
       #file goes, colour \n size \n kind \n repeat...
       lines = file.read().splitlines()
       count = 1

       for line in lines:
           if count % 3 == 1:
              colour = line
           if count % 3 == 2:
              size = line
           if count % 3 == 0:
              kind = line

              newApple = Apple(colour, size, kind)
              tempList.append(newApple)
              print(newApple)
           count +=1

   return tempList

Answer 2

You need to move newApple = apple() inside of the for loop.