This is a part of a larger program made to help translating roman dates in our current calendar.
I need to link a kind of "lists database" (all the Roman consulates and their date) as the following
def date_():
if name in list1[Name A, Name B, Name C]:
date = 509
return date
if name in list2[Name D, Name E]:
date = 508
return date
if name in list3[Name F]:
etc...
Aim is that the user enters a "Name" and then the date will be assigned to a variable. Then the name will be searched in all the lists and assigned to the corresponding date.
name = input("Consulate name: ")
date = date_()
print(name, " was consulate in ", date)
But doing that manually is pure suicide (we would have around 800 "if name in list[]:").
My questions here are
1° Is it ok to do like that ? Or am I just doing something very easy to understand but somewhat stupid ?
2° could I extract in some way the Wikipedia list for having the 800 lists already done with the names and a date assigned ? If no, should I do that in Excel and then find a way to make the lists ? Doing the 800 in Excel will be painful but still less than in Python. I could also try in a SPARQL in RDF here for selecting only the consuls with their name and the date of consulate but I don't know how it works...
Thanks for any thoughts !
Because values are in tables so you could use pandas to read page and get tables as DataFrames
But it still may need some works to join tables and fill empty cells. And when you will have all data then you could keep them in dictionary.
d = {"Name A": 509, "Name B": 509, "Name C": 509, "Name D": 508, "Name E": 508, ...}
and use simple
date = d.get(name, None)
Simple code which gets all tables from Wikipedia page
import pandas as pd
all_tables = pd.read_html('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_consuls')
print('number of tables:', len(all_tables))
for number, df in enumerate(all_tables):
print('\n---', number, '---\n')
print(df.head())
Result:
number of tables: 18
--- 0 ---
Ancient Rome
Periods
Roman Kingdom753–509 BC Roman Republic509–27 BC Roman Empire27 BC – AD 395 Principate Dominate WesternAD 395–476 EasternAD 395–1453 Timeline
0 Roman Constitution
1 Constitution of the Kingdom Constitution of th...
2 Precedent and law
3 Roman law Ius Imperium Mos maiorum Collegialit...
4 Assemblies
--- 1 ---
0 ... 3
0 A. = Aulus Ap. = Appius C. = Gaius Cn. = Gnaeu... ... Sex. = Sextus Sp. = Spurius T. = Titus Ti. = T...
[1 rows x 4 columns]
--- 2 ---
Year Consul prior Consul posterior
0 509 L. Junius Brutus L. Tarquinius Collatinus
1 suff. Sp. Lucretius Tricipitinus P. Valerius Poplicola
2 suff. M. Horatius Pulvillus NaN
3 508 P. Valerius Poplicola II T. Lucretius Tricipitinus
4 507 P. Valerius Poplicola III M. Horatius Pulvillus II[18]
--- 3 ---
Year ... Consul posterior
0 500 ... M'. Tullius Longus
1 499 ... C. Veturius Geminus Cicurinus
2 498 ... T. Lartius (Flavus or Rufus) II
3 497 ... M. Minucius Augurinus
4 496 ... T. Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus
[5 rows x 3 columns]
--- 4 ---
Year Consul prior Consul posterior
0 400 Consular Tribunes NaN
1 NaN P. Licinius Calvus Esquilinus P. Maelius Capitolinus
2 NaN P. Manlius Vulso Sp. Furius Medullinus
3 NaN L. Titinius Pansa Saccus L. Publilius Philo Vulscus
4 399 Consular Tribunes NaN
--- 5 ---
Year Consul prior Consul posterior
0 300 M. Valerius Maximus Corvus V Q. Appuleius Pansa
1 299 M. Fulvius Paetinus T. Manlius Torquatus
2 suff. NaN M. Valerius Maximus Corvus VI
3 298 L. Cornelius Scipio Barbatus Cn. Fulvius Maximus Centumalus
4 297 Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus IV P. Decius Mus III
--- 6 ---
Year Consul prior Consul posterior
0 200 P. Sulpicius Galba Maximus II C. Aurelius Cotta
1 199 L. Cornelius Lentulus P. Villius Tappulus
2 198 T. Quinctius Flamininus Sex. Aelius Paetus Catus
3 197 C. Cornelius Cethegus Q. Minucius Rufus
4 196 L. Furius Purpureo M. Claudius Marcellus
--- 7 ---
Year Consul prior Consul posterior
0 100[63] C. Marius VI L. Valerius Flaccus
1 99 M. Antonius A. Postumius Albinus
2 98 Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos T. Didius
3 97 Cn. Cornelius Lentulus P. Licinius Crassus
4 96 Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus C. Cassius Longinus
--- 8 ---
Year ... Consul posterior
0 1[77] ... L. Aemilius Paullus (January–June)
1 suff. ... M. Herennius Picens (July–December)
2 2 ... P. Alfenus Varus
3 suff. ... T. Quinctius Crispinus Valerianus
4 3 ... M. Servilius
[5 rows x 3 columns]
--- 9 ---
Year ... Consul posterior
0 101[134] ... Q. Articuleius Paetus II (January–March)
1 suff. ... NaN
2 suff. ... M. Maecius Celer
3 suff. ... ignotus
4 suff.[135] ... L. Julius Marinus Caecilius Simplex
[5 rows x 3 columns]
--- 10 ---
Year ... Consul posterior
0 201 ... M. Nonius Arrius Mucianus
1 202 ... Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Antoninus Augustus
2 suff.[182] ... C. Cassius Regallianus
3 203 ... P. Septimius Geta II
4 204 ... M. Annius Flavius Libo
[5 rows x 3 columns]
--- 11 ---
Year ... Consul posterior
0 301 ... Virius Nepotianus
1 302 ... C. Galerius Valerius Maximianus Caesar IV
2 303 ... Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Au...
3 304 ... Imp. Caesar M. Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Au...
4 305 ... C. Galerius Valerius Maximianus Caesar V
[5 rows x 3 columns]
--- 12 ---
Year Consul prior Consul posterior
0 396.0 Flavius Arcadius Augustus IV Flavius Honorius Augustus III
1 397.0 Flavius Caesarius Nonius Atticus
2 398.0 Flavius Eutychianus Flavius Honorius Augustus IV
3 399.0 Eutropius Flavius Mallius Theodorus
4 400.0 Aurelianus Flavius Stilicho
--- 13 ---
Year Eastern Roman Consul
0 535[205] Flavius Belisarius
1 536 Post consulatum Belisarii
2 537 II post consulatum Belisarii
3 538 Flavius Marianus Michaelius Gabrielius Archang...
4 539 Flavius Strategius Apion Strategius Apion
--- 14 ---
vteAncient Rome topics vteAncient Rome topics.1
0 Outline Timeline Outline Timeline
1 Epochs Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic Empire P...
2 Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic
3 Empire Pax Romana Principate Dominate Western Empire ...
4 Constitution History Kingdom Republic Empire Late Empire Se...
--- 15 ---
0 1
0 Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic
1 Empire Pax Romana Principate Dominate Western Empire ...
--- 16 ---
0 1
0 Ordinary Consul Censor Praetor Tribune Tribune of the P...
1 Extraordinary Rex Interrex Dictator Magister Equitum Decemvi...
EDIT: This code get all tables, join them and save in 'roman_consuls.csv'
import pandas as pd
all_tables = pd.read_html('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_consuls')
df = all_tables[2]
for number in range(3, 13):
df = df.append(all_tables[number])
# remove addnotations - ie. `[205]`
df['Year'] = df['Year'].str.replace('\\[\d+\\]', '')
df['Consul prior'] = df['Consul prior'].str.replace('\\[\d+\\]', '')
df['Consul posterior'] = df['Consul posterior'].str.replace('\\[\d+\\]', '')
# use value from previous rows (mostly from row in text 'Consular Tribunes') - `ffill` means `forward fill`
df['Year'] = df['Year'].fillna(method='ffill')
# TODO: remove rows with text `'Consular Tribunes'`
#df.drop(df['Consul prior'] == 'Consular Tribunes', inplace=True)
# save to file
df.to_csv('roman_consuls.csv')
and later you can read from file and search
BTW: some names are many times in table so I always return list with years or None (but instead of None it could return empty list and then it can be always use with for-loop - even if list is empty)
import pandas as pd
# read from file
df = pd.read_csv('roman_consuls.csv')
def date_(name):
mask1 = (df['Consul prior'] == name)
mask2 = (df['Consul posterior'] == name)
#mask1 = (df['Consul prior'].str.contains(name))
#mask2 = (df['Consul posterior'].str.contains(name))
rows = df[ mask1 | mask2 ]
if len(rows) > 0:
return rows['Year'].values #[0]
# it will return `None` if there is no rows
for name in ('M. Valerius Volusus', 'Unknow', 'M. Aemilius Lepidus', 'P. Cornelius Cossus', 'Ap. Claudius Crassus Sabinus Regillensis'):
date = date_(name)
print('name:', name)
print('year:', date)
print('---')
Result
name: M. Valerius Volusus
year: ['505']
---
name: Unknow
year: None
---
name: M. Aemilius Lepidus
year: ['285' '232' '187' '158' '126' '78' '46']
---
name: P. Cornelius Cossus
year: ['415' '408' '395']
---
name: Ap. Claudius Crassus Sabinus Regillensis
year: ['451' '451']
But columns may still need to clear data before use.
code doesn't add table Eastern Roman Consul which has different columns but still you can save all_tables[13] in separated file and use as separated data
code check in both columns Consul prior and Consul posterior but you can us e only one of them
for some consuls there was no year so I use .fillna() to get value from row above. Mostly it is row with text 'Consular Tribunes' but sometimes it may be other counsul and this method may gives wrong results.
some years/names have addnotation which adds number like [205] to date/name and I remove it.