Groupcast

Groupcast is a lightweight Python utility for broadcasting method calls and aggregating attribute access across a group of objects — as if they were a single entity.

It supports both serial and parallel execution modes, along with list-like behavior (iteration, indexing, appending, popping).

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Features

• ✅ Broadcast method calls across objects (group.method(args))
• ✅ Access non-callable attributes as aggregated lists (group.attr)
• ✅ Switch between serial and parallel execution modes
• ✅ Direct control via apply() for methods and get() for attributes
• ✅ List-like behavior: len(), [], iteration, append(), pop()

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Installation

This library is instable via pip using the command pip install groupcast, if you would rather not use pip, you could also just drop this file into your project and import it that way.

Simple Usage

import groupcast

class Example:
    def __init__(self, x):
        self.x = x
    def double(self):
        return(self.x * 2)
inputs = [[1], [2], [3]]
group = groupcast.Group(Example, inputs=inputs) 
print(group.x)
# should result in [1, 2, 3]

print(group.double())
# should result in [2, 4, 6]

print(group[0].x)    #< to only print the value for the first object
# should result in 1

Constructor

Group(inputs=None, class_=None, objects=None, parallel=False, maxWorkers=None)

You can initialize a Group in two ways:

1. Using class_:

   • Creates a list of objects by creating the class_ constructor.

2. Using objects directly:

   • Pass in a list of pre-created objects.

If neither objects nor class_ is provided, a TypeError is raised.

Execution Modes

Use .changeExecutionMode(parallel=True, maxWorkers=...) to toggle between:

• Serial mode (default): runs method calls one after another.

• Parallel mode: runs method calls concurrently using threads.

To change modes, use the following:
group.changeExecutionMode(parallel=True) # now runs in parallel
You can also set it to false to return back to serial mode

Attribute & Method Access

• group.attr returns a list of attribute values (e.g., group.x will return [x1,x2,x3,x4] for every object)

• group.method(*args) broadcasts the call across all objects and will return the results

• For explicit control:

  • group.get("attrName")

  • group.apply("methodName", *args)

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Appending & Removing

To append, you can use the append and pass the same varibles as you pass to init
EX: group.append(input=4, class_=Example) will add a new Example object initialized with the value 4

You can append using either class_, or a ready object.

Example Use Cases

• Managing multiple similar sensor or device objects.

• Group operations on widgets, models, or entities in simulations/games.

• Synchronous control of multiple instances for testing or broadcasting commands.

License

MIT License (see LICENSE file for more information)