Are there any shortcuts for a case like this?

Question

everyone! I'm new at programming and I haven't been able to find a proper answer for this question. I'll try to explain it as best as I can:

I'd like to know if there are any ways to shorten up my code, in order to not make it so repetitive in cases like the one below.

class vehicle:
    colour = 0
    turbo = 0
    quality = 1
    type = 0

    def create_vehicle(self, pick_colour, add_turbo, define_quality, pick_type):
        self.colour = pick_colour
        self.turbo = add_turbo
        self.quality = define_quality
        self.type = pick_type
        return (self.colour, self.turbo, self.quality, self.type)

#This is the part I want to shorten up#

    def check_vehicle(self):
        if self.type == 0:
            self.type = "motorbike"
        elif self.type == 1:
            self.type = "car"
        elif self.type == 2:
            self.type = "van"
        if self.quality == 1:
            self.quality = "basic"
        elif self.quality == 2:
            self.quality = "normal"
        elif self.quality == 3:
            self.quality = "good"
        elif self.quality == 4:
            self.quality = "superior"
        if self.colour == 0:
            self.colour = "white"
        elif self.colour == 1:
            self.colour = "red"
        elif self.colour == 2:
            self.colour = "yellow"
        elif self.colour == 3:
            self.colour = "blue"
        elif self.colour == 4:
            self.colour = "green"
        elif self.colour == 5:
            self.colour = "black"
        elif self.colour == 6:
            self.colour = "orange"
        elif self.colour == 7:
            self.colour = "grey"
        if self.turbo == 0:
            self.turbo = "does not have"
        elif self.turbo == 1:
            self.turbo = "has"
        print("The %s I've created has a %s quality. It is %s and %s turbo" % (self.type, self.quality, self.colour, self.turbo))

"""
Types:
    0 = Motorbike
    1 = Car
    2 = Van
Quality:
    From 1 to 4
    Increases general stats of the vehicle (Speed, Appearance, Maneuverability)
    1 = Basic
    2 = Normal
    3 = Good
    4 = Superior
Colour:
    0 = White
    1 = Red
    2 = Yellow
    3 = Blue
    4 = Green
    5 = Black
    6 = Orange
    7 = Grey
"""

vehicle1 = vehicle()
vehicle1.create_vehicle(5, 1, 4, 0)
vehicle1.check_vehicle()

As I've checked myself, this code outputs the following:

The motorbike I've created has a superior quality. It is black and has turbo

It works! Yay! However, the problem is that I want to shorten up a part of the code, which I highlighted above. Thanks for your help

Answer 1

You could use lists or dictionaries to transpose the codes into descriptions. I would suggest however that you avoid updating the members of your objects if you merely want to print a description.

def check_vehicle(self):
    types     = [ "motorbike", "car", "van" ]
    qualities = [ "", "basic", "normal", "good", "superior" ]
    colours   = [ "white", "red", "yellow", "blue", "green", "black" ]
    hasTurbo  = ["does not have","has"]
    self.type    = types[self.type]
    self.quality = qualities[self.quality]
    self.colour  = colours[self.colour]
    self.turbo   = hasTurbo[self.turbo]
    print("The %s I've created has a %s quality. It is %s and %s turbo" % (self.type, self.quality, self.colour, self.turbo))

Answer 2

If you're using Python 2.7 you'll want to inherit from Object. i.e.

class vehicle:

should become

class vehicle(Object):

For info on why see Python class inherits object

Depending on your use case it might be better to define a constructor (aka init) rather than create_vehicle(..).

For more info see https://micropyramid.com/blog/understand-self-and-init-method-in-python-class/

For the check_vehicle I'd simplify by using a dictionary. e.g.

types = {
    1: "motorbike",
    2: "car",
    3:......etc
}

then in

def check_vehicle(self):
    if self.type in types:
        self.type = types[self.type]
    else:
        print "My error message"

https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_dictionaries.asp