Lets you access nested dictionaries in Python the same way you access nested items in JSON notation. This means, however, that you cannot use dots in key names. Most useful for accessing named variables according to the results of variety.js.

Nested Dicts by JSON Dot Notation.py

def getByDot(obj, ref):
    """
    Use MongoDB style 'something.by.dot' syntax to retrieve objects from Python dicts.
    
    This also accepts nested arrays, and accommodates the '.XX' syntax that variety.js
    produces.
    
    Usage:
       >>> x = {"top": {"middle" : {"nested": "value"}}}
       >>> q = 'top.middle.nested'
       >>> getByDot(x,q)
       "value"
    """
    val = obj
    tmp = ref
    ref = tmp.replace(".XX","[0]")
    if tmp != ref:
        print("Warning: replaced '.XX' with [0]-th index")
    for key in ref.split('.'):
        idstart = key.find("[")
        embedslist = 1 if idstart > 0 else 0
        if embedslist:
            idx = int(key[idstart+1:key.find("]")])
            kyx = key[:idstart]
            try:
                val = val[kyx][idx]
            except IndexError:
                print("Index: x['{}'][{}] does not exist.".format(kyx,idx))
                raise
        else: 
            val = val[key]
    return(val)