cybertools/index/README.txt

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Indexed Collections for Various Purposes
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$Id$

Multikey Dictionaries
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A MultiKeyDict is a dictionary that expects its keys to be tuples.

  >>> from cybertools.index.multikey import MultiKeyDict
  >>> registry = MultiKeyDict()

  >>> registry[('index.html',)] = 'global index.html'

  >>> registry[('index.html',)]
  'global index.html'

So this would be nothing special - any dictionary is able to provide this
functionality; but a MultiKeyDict has some fallback mechanisms for retrieving
objects only partly fitting the requested key:

  >>> registry.get(('index.html', 'topic', 'zope3', 'Custom'))
  'global index.html'

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'topic', 'zope3', 'Custom')]
  'global index.html'

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'topic',)] = 'index.html for type "topic"'

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'topic', 'zope3', 'Custom')]
  'index.html for type "topic"'

It is also possible to keep intermediate parts of a key variable by
setting them to None:

  >>> registry[('index.html', None, None, 'Custom')] = 'Global index.html for Custom skin'

The more on the left a matching key part is the higher is its priority:

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'topic', 'zope3', 'Custom')]
  'index.html for type "topic"'

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'task', 'bugfixes', 'Custom')]
  'Global index.html for Custom skin'


  >>> registry[('edit.html', 'topic', 'zope3', 'Custom')] = 'very special edit.html'

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'task', 'bugfixes', 'Custom')]
  'Global index.html for Custom skin'

  >>> registry[('index.html', 'topic', 'zope3', 'Custom')]
  'index.html for type "topic"'

  >>> registry.get(('edit.html', 'task', 'bugfixes', 'Custom'))