Extending Alex's answer slightly:
class User:
def __init__(self):
self.data = [1,2,3]
self.other_data = [4,5,6]
def doSomething(self, source):
dataSource = getattr(self,source)
return dataSource
A = User()
print A.doSomething("data")
print A.doSomething("other_data")
will yield:
[1, 2, 3] [4, 5, 6]
However, personally I don't think that's great style - getattr will let you access any attribute of the instance, including things like the doSomething method itself, or even the __dict__ of the instance. I would suggest that instead you implement a dictionary of data sources, like so:
class User:
def __init__(self):
self.data_sources = {
"data": [1,2,3],
"other_data":[4,5,6],
}
def doSomething(self, source):
dataSource = self.data_sources[source]
return dataSource
A = User()
print A.doSomething("data")
print A.doSomething("other_data")
again yielding:
[1, 2, 3] [4, 5, 6]