{"id":76,"date":"2026-03-01T16:58:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigz.pk\/python\/?post_type=lesson&p=76"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:34:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T07:34:36","slug":"dictionaries","status":"publish","type":"lesson","link":"https:\/\/gigz.pk\/python\/lesson\/dictionaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Dictionaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A dictionary<\/strong> is a collection data type in Python used to store data in key-value pairs<\/strong>.
Dictionaries are ordered (Python 3.7+)<\/strong>, mutable<\/strong>, and do not allow duplicate keys<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are useful for storing related information together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CREATING A DICTIONARY<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Dictionaries are created using curly brackets { }<\/code> with key-value pairs separated by colons :<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

student = {
    \"name\": \"Hira\",
    \"age\": 25,
    \"course\": \"Python\"
}<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
ACCESSING VALUES<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
You can access dictionary values using their keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
print(student[\"name\"])<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Using the get()<\/code> method:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
print(student.get(\"age\"))<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
ADDING OR UPDATING ITEMS<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
You can add a new key-value pair or update an existing one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
student[\"city\"] = \"Karachi\"
student[\"age\"] = 26<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
REMOVING ITEMS<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
pop() \u2013 Removes item by key<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
student.pop(\"course\")<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
popitem() \u2013 Removes last inserted item<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
student.popitem()<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
del \u2013 Deletes specific key<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
del student[\"city\"]<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
clear() \u2013 Removes all items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
student.clear()<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
LOOPING THROUGH A DICTIONARY<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Loop through keys<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
for key in student:
    print(key)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Loop through values<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
for value in student.values():
    print(value)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Loop through key-value pairs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
for key, value in student.items():
    print(key, \":\", value)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
DICTIONARY METHODS<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
print(student.keys())
print(student.values())
print(student.items())<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
NESTED DICTIONARY<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
A dictionary can contain another dictionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
students = {
    \"student1\": {\"name\": \"Ali\", \"age\": 20},
    \"student2\": {\"name\": \"Sara\", \"age\": 22}
}print(students[\"student1\"][\"name\"])<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
IMPORTANT RULES<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Keys must be unique
\u2022 Keys must be immutable (string, number, tuple)
\u2022 Values can be any data type
\u2022 Dictionaries are mutable<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHEN TO USE DICTIONARIES<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 When storing related data
\u2022 When mapping one value to another
\u2022 For structured data like records, JSON, APIs
\u2022 When fast key-based lookup is needed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding dictionaries<\/strong> is essential for handling structured and real-world data in Python programs.<\/p>\n\n\n
Home<\/a><\/span> \u00bb PYTHON INTERMEDIATE (PYI) > Data Structures > Dictionaries<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/strong> 
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