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11.3: Looping and dictionaries

  • Page ID
    40789
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    If you use a dictionary in a for statement, it traverses the keys of the dictionary. For example, print_hist prints each key and the corresponding value:

    def print_hist(h):
        for c in h:
            print(c, h[c])
    

    Here’s what the output looks like:

    >>> h = histogram('parrot')
    >>> print_hist(h)
    a 1
    p 1
    r 2
    t 1
    o 1
    

    Again, the keys are in no particular order. To traverse the keys in sorted order, you can use the built-in function sorted:

    >>> for key in sorted(h):
    ...     print(key, h[key])
    a 1
    o 1
    p 1
    r 2
    t 1

    This page titled 11.3: Looping and dictionaries is shared under a CC BY-NC 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allen B. Downey (Green Tea Press) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.