Python Dictionary Methods

Python dictionary methods is collection of Python functions that operates on Dictionary.

Python Dictionary is like a map that is used to store data in the form of a key: value pair. Python provides various built-in functions to deal with dictionaries. In this article, we will see a list of all the functions provided by Python to work with dictionaries.

List of Python Dictionary Methods

Python provides several built-in methods for dictionaries that allow for efficient manipulation, access, and transformation of dictionary data. Here’s a list of some important Python dictionary methods:

Functions Name	Descriptions
clear()	Removes all items from the dictionary
copy()	Returns a shallow copy of the dictionary
fromkeys()	Creates a dictionary from the given sequence
get()	Returns the value for the given key
items()	Return the list with all dictionary keys with values
keys()	Returns a view object that displays a list of all the keys in the dictionary in order of insertion
pop()	Returns and removes the element with the given key
popitem()	Returns and removes the key-value pair from the dictionary
setdefault()	Returns the value of a key if the key is in the dictionary else inserts the key with a value to the dictionary
values()	Returns a view object containing all dictionary values, which can be accessed and iterated through efficiently
update()	Updates the dictionary with the elements from another dictionary or an iterable of key-value pairs. With this method, you can include new data or merge it with existing dictionary entries

These methods provide various functionalities for working with dictionaries in Python, making it easier to manage and manipulate data stored in key-value pairs.

Note: For more information on Python Dictionary refer to Python Dictionary Tutorial.

Built-in Dictionary Methods in Python

In Python Dictionary we have various built-in functions that provide a wide range of operations for working with dictionaries. These techniques enable efficient manipulation, access, and transformation of dictionary data.

Lets Look at some Python dictionary methods with examples:

1. Dictionary clear() Method

The clear() method in Python is a built-in method that is used to remove all the elements (key-value pairs) from a dictionary. It essentially empties the dictionary, leaving it with no key-value pairs.

Python

my_dict = {'1': 'Geeks', '2': 'For', '3': 'Geeks'}
my_dict.clear()
print(my_dict)

Output

{}

2. Dictionary get() Method

In Python, the get() method is a pre-built dictionary function that enables you to obtain the value linked to a particular key in a dictionary. It is a secure method to access dictionary values without causing a KeyError if the key isn’t present.

Python

d = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
print(d.get('Name'))
print(d.get('Gender'))

Output

Ram
None

3. Dictionary items() Method

In Python, the items() method is a built-in dictionary function that retrieves a view object containing a list of tuples. Each tuple represents a key-value pair from the dictionary. This method is a convenient way to access both the keys and values of a dictionary simultaneously, and it is highly efficient.

Python

d = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
print(list(d.items())[1][0])
print(list(d.items())[1][1])

Output

Age
19

4. Dictionary keys() Method

The keys() method in Python returns a view object with dictionary keys, allowing efficient access and iteration.

Python

d = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
print(list(d.keys()))

Output

['Name', 'Age', 'Country']

5. Dictionary values() Method

The values() method in Python returns a view object containing all dictionary values, which can be accessed and iterated through efficiently.

Python

d = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
print(list(d.values()))

Output

['Ram', '19', 'India']

6. Dictionary update() Method

Python’s update() method is a built-in dictionary function that updates the key-value pairs of a dictionary using elements from another dictionary or an iterable of key-value pairs. With this method, you can include new data or merge it with existing dictionary entries.

Python

d1 = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
d2 = {'Name': 'Neha', 'Age': '22'}

d1.update(d2)
print(d1)

Output

{'Name': 'Neha', 'Age': '22', 'Country': 'India'}

7. Dictionary pop() Method

In Python, the pop() method is a pre-existing dictionary method that removes and retrieves the value linked with a given key from a dictionary. If the key is not present in the dictionary, you can set an optional default value to be returned.

Python

d = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
d.pop('Age')
print(d)

Output

{'Name': 'Ram', 'Country': 'India'}

8. Dictionary popitem() Method

In Python, the popitem() method is a dictionary function that eliminates and returns a random (key, value) pair from the dictionary.

As opposed to the pop() method which gets rid of a particular key-value pair based on a given key, popitem() takes out and gives back a pair without requiring a key to be specified.

Python

d = {'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19', 'Country': 'India'}
d.popitem()
print(d)

d.popitem()
print(d)

Output

{'Name': 'Ram', 'Age': '19'}
{'Name': 'Ram'}

FAQs on Python Dictionary Methods

Q1: What is a Python Dictionary?

In Python, a dictionary is like a container that holds an assortment of key-value pairs, It’s a fundamental way to organize data where each piece of information is known as a “Key”. The Dictionary doesn’t impose any specific order on these pairs, so you can’t rely on the sequence in which they were added.

Q2: How we can access values in a Python dictionary?

We can access values in a Python dictionary by using the keys as the index: Below is the code:

my_dict = {“name”: “Kin”, “age”: 23, “city”: “London”}

print(my_dict[“name”]) #kin

print(my_dict[“age”]) #23

print(my_dict[“city”]) #London

Q3: What happens when we try to access a key that doesn’t exist in the dictionary?

When we try to access a key that doesn’t exist in the dictionary, Python will raise a ‘KeyError’. You can use the ‘get()’ method.

Q4: How do we remove an item from a dictionary?

To remove an item (key-value pair) from a dictionary, you can use the ‘pop()’ method, specifying the key to be removed.