Posted on Dec 7, 2019 • Edited on Dec 16, 2019

Charming the Python: Dictionaries

If coding tutorials with math examples are the bane of your existence, keep reading. This series uses relatable examples like dogs and cats.

Dictionaries

Dictionaries are collections on mutable/modifiable key-value pairs

Creating

empty_dictionary = {} dict = {'key1':'value1', 'key2':'value2'}

In the following example, there are booleans, floats, integers, a dictionary, and a list. This list and the dictionary are referred to as "nested" because they are inside another dictionary.

dogs = { 'name': 'Cheeto', 'colors': ['tan', 'black'], 'age': 4.5, 'chipped': True, 'breed': 'chihuahua', 'weight': 12.8, 'vaccines_due':{ 'rabies': 2022, 'dhpp': 2020, 'kennel_cough': 2020, } } print(dogs.get('breed')) >>> chihuahua

Changing

dogs = { 'name': 'Cheeto', 'colors': ['tan', 'black'], 'chipped': True, 'breed': 'chihuahua', 'weight': 12.8, 'vaccines_due':{ 'rabies': 2022, } } dogs['fixed'] = True # adds a new key-value pair dogs['colors'].append('light tan') # adds another value to the given key dogs['name'] = 'Cheese' # changes value of the given key  print(dogs) >>> dogs = { 'name': 'Cheese', 'colors': ['tan', 'black', 'light tan'], 'chipped': True, 'breed': 'chihuahua', 'weight': 12.8, 'vaccines_due':{ 'rabies': 2022, } 'fixed': True }