3 Variants of Python Dictionaries That Make Your Coding Easier

Choose the most appropriate one

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A dictionary in Python, which contains key-value pairs, is one of the key data structures for daily programming. Besides the basic dict, Python kindly gives us more convenient options. Using them skillfully will make our code more elegant and our coding more smoothly.

This article will dive into 3 common used variants of Python dictionaries, from basic syntax to real scenarios. After reading, you will be able to choose the most appropriate one in real cases.

1. Defaultdict: Set a Default Value for Your Dict

When you get the value of a dict by a key, an unexpected exception may be raised:

>>> city = {'UK':'London','Japan':'Tokyo'}
>>> print(city['Italy'])
# KeyError: 'Italy'

One solution to avoid the above issue is using the get() function to require a value by a key:

city = {'UK':'London','Japan':'Tokyo'}
print(city.get('Italy'))
# None

The get function can return a None instead of raising an exception when a key doesn’t exist.