Dictionary methods
18-minute lesson · module-dictionaries-02
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Dictionary methods
18-minute lesson · module-dictionaries-02
- Use `.get` with a default to read a key that might be missing.
- Iterate with `.keys`, `.values`, and `.items`.
- Apply `.setdefault` and `.update` to build dictionaries incrementally.
- Implement the count-with-a-dictionary pattern (tally how often each item appears).
Source attribution
Status: adapted
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Interactive Edition — source · Dictionaries / Dictionary methods
Adaptation notes. Reading rewritten in our voice. Worked example tallies student enrollment by department using an Iowa State CS course-registration theme. Hidden tests check the counting pattern and the difference between `.get` and direct subscripting.
License notes. Original chapter is GNU FDL 1.3 (Brad Miller, David Ranum, and the upstream Elkner/Downey/Meyers text). No verbatim text reproduced.