Dictionary basics

18-minute lesson · module-dictionaries-01

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Dictionary basics

18-minute lesson · module-dictionaries-01

  • Create a dictionary literal and an empty dictionary.
  • Look up, insert, update, and delete entries by key.
  • Iterate over keys, values, and items.
  • Use `in` to test for key membership without raising KeyError.

Source attribution

Status: adapted

How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Interactive Edition source · Dictionaries / Intro to Dictionaries / Dictionary operations

Adaptation notes. Reading rewritten in our voice. Worked example uses an Iowa State CS courses-and-credits theme. Hidden tests check insertion, update, membership, and KeyError handling.

License notes. Original chapter is GNU FDL 1.3 (Brad Miller, David Ranum, and the upstream Elkner/Downey/Meyers text). No verbatim text reproduced.