How to Convert a Dictionary to Other Types

In Python, dictionaries are one of the most commonly used data structures, as they allow for fast and efficient lookups of values based on keys. While dictionaries are commonly created manually in Python code, it is often useful to convert data from other formats, such as lists or JSON, into dictionaries. Let's review the examples of conversion

Dictionary Creation using Variables

Let's look at the example of how to convert variables into a dictionary in Python:

# define variables
name = "John"
age = 25
gender = "male"

# create dictionary
my_dict = {
    "name": name,
    "age": age,
    "gender": gender
}

# print dictionary
print(my_dict)

In this example, we define three variables: name, age, and gender. Then, we create a dictionary called my_dict and assign each variable to a key in the dictionary. Finally, we print the dictionary to verify that it contains the correct key-value pairs. The output should be:

{'name': 'John', 'age': 25, 'gender': 'male'}

List to Dictionary Conversion

To convert a list to a dictionary in Python, you can use the dict() constructor function. The list should contain tuples where each tuple contains a key-value pair. Here is an example:

my_list = [('a', 1), ('b', 2), ('c', 3)]
my_dict = dict(my_list)
print(my_dict) # Output: {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

In this example, the list my_list contains three tuples, each of which represents a key-value pair. The dict() constructor function is used to convert the list into a dictionary, and the resulting dictionary is stored in the variable my_dict. The output shows the contents of the resulting dictionary.

String to Dictionary Conversion

You can convert a string to a dictionary in Python using the json module, which is built-in to Python.

Here's an example:

import json

# Sample string
string = '{"name": "John", "age": 30, "city": "New York"}'

# Convert string to dictionary
dictionary = json.loads(string)

# Print the dictionary
print(dictionary)

Output:

{'name': 'John', 'age': 30, 'city': 'New York'}

In this example, the json.loads() method is used to convert the string to a dictionary. The resulting dictionary is stored in the dictionary variable and then printed.

Tuple to Dictionary Conversion

In Python, you can convert a tuple to a dictionary using the dict() function which we mentioned earlier. Here's an example:

# Define a tuple
my_tuple = ('apple', 'pineapple', 'cherry')

# Convert the tuple to a dictionary
my_dict = dict(zip(range(len(my_tuple)), my_tuple))

# Print the dictionary
print(my_dict)

Output:

{0: 'apple', 1: 'pineapple', 2: 'cherry'}

In this example, the zip() function is used to combine the tuple elements with the indices of each element. Then, the dict() function is used to convert the zipped object into a dictionary.