Python - Dictionary Methods Part 1: Accessing and Retrieving Data

These methods focus on fetching values and keys or exploring dictionary contents.

Methods and Examples

get() Method Retrieves the value associated with a key. If the key doesn’t exist, it returns a default value (default is None).

my_dict = {"name": "Alice", "age": 25, "city": "New York"}

print(my_dict.get("name"))  # Output: Alice

print(my_dict.get("country", "USA"))  # Output: USA

Explanation: Use get() to safely access dictionary values without raising a KeyError.

keys() Method Returns a view object containing all dictionary keys.

print(my_dict.keys())  # Output: dict_keys(['name', 'age', 'city'])

Explanation: The keys() method is useful for iterating over all keys.

values() Method Returns a view object containing all dictionary values.

print(my_dict.values())  # Output: dict_values(['Alice', 25, 'New York'])

Explanation: The values() method provides access to all dictionary values in one go.

items() Method Returns a view object containing key-value pairs as tuples.

print(my_dict.items())  # Output: dict_items([('name', 'Alice'), ('age', 25), ('city', 'New York')])

Explanation: The items() method is particularly helpful in for-loops for unpacking keys and values.