# Useful functions and classes

#### Object metadata

def type_name(value): return type(value).__name__

def module(value): return type(value).__module__.split('.')

def root_module(value): return module(value)[0]

#### Basic types

class ConstraintError(ValueError):

    def __init__(self, check_func, value):

        ValueError.__init__(self, str(value)+' must satisfy constraint '

            +check_func.__name__)

def cast(type_, val):

    '''Passes None through'''

    if val != None: val = type_(val)

    return val

def is_str(val): return isinstance(val, basestring)

#### Iterables

def first(iter_): return iter_.next()

def skip(iter_, func):

    # Advance iter while func is True

    try:

        while func(iter_.curr()): iter_.next()

    except StopIteration: pass # nothing after the matching elements

class CheckedIter:

    def __init__(self, check_func, iterable):

        self.check_func = check_func

        self.iter_ = iterable.__iter__()

    def __iter__(self): return self

    def next(self):

        entry = self.iter_.next()

        if self.check_func(entry): return entry

        else: raise ConstraintError(self.check_func, entry)

#### Dicts

def rename_key(dict_, orig, new): dict_[new] = dict_.pop(orig)

def dict_subset(dict_, keys):

    subset = dict()

    for key in keys:

        try: subset[key] = dict_[key]

        except KeyError: pass

    return subset