The Python Apprentice

The dict type – associating keys with values

Dictionaries – embodied in the dict type – are completely fundamental to the way the Python language works, and are very widely used. A dictionary maps keys to values, and in some languages it is known as a map or associative array. Let's look at how to create and use dictionaries in Python.

Literal dictionaries are created using curly braces containing key-value pairs. Each pair is separated by a comma, and each key is separated from its corresponding value by a colon. Here we use a dictionary to create a simple telephone directory:

>>> d = {'alice': '878-8728-922', 'bob': '256-5262-124',          'eve': '198-2321-787'}

We can retrieve items by key using the square brackets operator:

>>> d['alice']'878-8728-922' ...