Python Dictionaries: 5 Methods You Should Actually Be Using

Introduction

When I first learned about Python dictionaries, I just used them to store key-value pairs. But there are a few built-in methods that save so much time and make your code cleaner.

Here are the 5 methods I use almost every day.

1. .get() - The Safe Way to Access Keys

Instead of this:

user = {"name": "Ali"}
print(user["age"]) # KeyError!

Do this:

print(user.get("age", "Not found"))

2. .items()-Loop Through Keys and Values

user = {"name": "Ali", "age": 25}
for key, value in user.items():
    print(f"{key}: {value}")

3. Keys() and .values()-Just the Basics

print(user.keys()) 
print(user.values()) 

4. .pop()- Remove and Return

age = user.pop("age")
print(age)

5. dict.update()-Merge Dictionaries

user.update({"city": "Karachi"})
print(user)

Conclusion

Dictionaries are powerful. Once you stop using brackets for everything and start using these methods, your python code will be much safer and more readable.