Dictionaries & sets
Key–value maps, uniqueness, counting, grouping, and fast lookups.
How to Find Symmetric Difference Between Two Python Sets
Compute elements unique to each set and build a flag dictionary showing membership across two Python sets.
def symmetric_difference_with_flags(set_a, set_b):
"""Return elements in either set but not both, grouped by which set they came from."""
only_in_a = set_a - set_b
only_in_b = set_b - set_a
print(f"Only in A: {only_in_a}")
print(f"Only in B: {only_in_b}")
print(f"Symmetric difference: {onl…How to Find the Intersection of Permission Sets in Python
This code defines a function that takes a list of permission sets and returns a set containing only the permissions common to all sets, with a short-circuit for empty results.
from typing import Set
def intersect_permissions(permission_sets: list[Set[str]]) -> Set[str]:
"""
Given a list of permission sets, return the common permissions
present in every set.
"""
if not permission_sets:
return set()
common = permission_sets[0]
for perm_set in permissi…How to Group Data by Category in Python with a Split Data Helper
This code groups a list of (category, item) pairs into a dictionary where each key is a category and each value is a list of items belonging to that category.
def split_data(categories):
"""
Group data items into buckets based on a key function.
Returns a dict where keys are bucket names and values are lists of items.
"""
buckets = {}
for category, item in categories:
if category not in buckets:
buckets[category] = []
buck…How to Group a List of Dictionaries by Key in Python
Group a list of dictionaries by a specified key field using dict.setdefault to build a dictionary of lists.
def group_by_key(records, key):
grouped = {}
for record in records:
grouped.setdefault(record[key], []).append(record)
return grouped
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [
{"name": "Alice", "dept": "engineering"},
{"name": "Bob", "dept": "sales"},
{"name": "Carol", "dept"…How to Implement Disjoint Set Union Find in Python
Implement a Disjoint Set Union-Find data structure using a Python dictionary for parent tracking, with path compression and connectivity checks.
class DisjointSet:
def __init__(self):
self.parent = {}
def find(self, x):
# Path compression
if self.parent[x] != x:
self.parent[x] = self.find(self.parent[x])
return self.parent[x]
def union(self, x, y):
# Initialize if not present
if x not in…How to Index a List of Records by Unique ID in Python
Build a dictionary that maps each record's unique id to the record itself from a list of dictionaries.
from typing import List, Dict, Any
def index_by_id(records: List[Dict[str, Any]], id_field: str = "id") -> Dict[Any, Dict[str, Any]]:
"""Build a dictionary mapping each record's unique id to the record itself."""
return {record[id_field]: record for record in records}
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample_re…How to Invert a Dictionary in Python Safely
Swap dictionary keys and values while detecting duplicate values to prevent silent data loss.
def invert_dict_safely(d):
inverted = {}
for key, value in d.items():
if value not in inverted:
inverted[value] = key
else:
raise ValueError(f"Duplicate value '{value}' would cause data loss")
return inverted
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = {"a": 1, "b": 2,…How to Map Dictionary Values with a Transformation Function in Python
Create a reusable function that applies a transformation to every value in a dictionary and returns a new dict.
def transform_dict_values(d, func):
"""Apply a transformation function to every value in a dictionary."""
return {key: func(value) for key, value in d.items()}
if __name__ == "__main__":
original = {"a": 1, "b": 2, "c": 3}
doubled = transform_dict_values(original, lambda x: x * 2)
print(doubled)
…How to Merge Dictionaries and Find Unique Keys in Python
Merge two dictionaries with update(), then use sets to find all unique keys and the keys shared between both dictionaries.
def merge_and_unique(dict1, dict2):
merged = dict1.copy()
merged.update(dict2)
unique_keys = set(merged.keys())
common_keys = set(dict1.keys()) & set(dict2.keys())
return merged, unique_keys, common_keys
if __name__ == "__main__":
fruits = {"apple": 3, "banana": 5, "orange": 2}
more_fruit…How to Merge Two Dictionaries in Python with the Spread Operator
Merge two Python dictionaries into one new dict using the ** unpacking (spread) operator, with later keys overriding earlier ones.
def merge_two_dicts(dict1: dict, dict2: dict) -> dict:
"""Merge two dictionaries using the spread operator pattern."""
# The ** operator unpacks key-value pairs, later keys overwrite earlier ones
merged = {**dict1, **dict2}
return merged
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Example usage with overlapping…How to Normalize Data in Python with Dictionaries and Sets
Normalize a list of dicts by keeping selected keys, stripping/lowercasing strings, and extracting unique sorted values using set comprehension.
def normalize_data(data, keys):
"""
Normalize a list of dictionaries by keeping only specified keys
and converting values to proper types.
"""
normalized = []
for item in data:
clean_item = {}
for key in keys:
value = item.get(key)
if isinstance(value, st…How to Normalize Data with Dictionaries and Sets in Python
Normalize dictionary entries to a fixed set of keys and extract unique values using sets in Python.
def normalize_entry(entry: dict, valid_keys: set) -> dict:
result = {}
for key in valid_keys:
result[key] = entry.get(key, "")
return result
def unique_values(entries: list[dict], key: str) -> set:
return {entry.get(key) for entry in entries if entry.get(key) is not None}
if __name__ == "__…How to Parse Data Into Dictionaries and Sets in Python
Parses raw student strings into a dictionary of lists and finds unique courses using a set.
from collections import defaultdict
def parse_students(raw_data):
"""Parse raw student strings into a dictionary of lists."""
parsed = defaultdict(list)
for entry in raw_data:
name, _, course = entry.partition(":")
parsed[course.strip()].append(name.strip())
return dict(parsed)
def fi…How to Parse Query String to Dict with Duplicate Keys in Python
Convert a URL query string into a Python dictionary, merging duplicate keys into lists while keeping single values as scalars.
from urllib.parse import parse_qs
def parse_query_to_dict(query_string):
parsed = parse_qs(query_string, keep_blank_values=True)
return {key: values if len(values) > 1 else values[0] for key, values in parsed.items()}
if __name__ == "__main__":
query = "name=John&name=Jane&age=30&city=&city=Paris&empty…How to Pickle a Python Dict and Load It Back
Save a dictionary to a binary file with pickle.dump() and reload it with pickle.load(), showing the round trip and type preservation.
import pickle
data = {"name": "Alice", "scores": [87, 92, 95], "active": True}
print("Original dict:", data)
with open("safe_demo.pkl", "wb") as f:
pickle.dump(data, f)
with open("safe_demo.pkl", "rb") as f:
loaded = pickle.load(f)
print("Loaded dict:", loaded)
print("Type:", type(loaded).__name__)
print(…How to Recursively Remove None Values from Nested Dictionaries in Python
Recursively removes all None values from nested dictionaries and lists while preserving non-None data.
def prune_none(obj):
if isinstance(obj, dict):
return {
k: prune_none(v)
for k, v in obj.items()
if v is not None and prune_none(v) is not None
}
elif isinstance(obj, list):
pruned = [prune_none(item) for item in obj]
pruned = [item for item i…How to Remove Banned Words from a Set in Python
Filter a vocabulary set by removing banned words using the .difference() method.
vocabulary = {"apple", "banana", "cherry", "date", "elderberry"}
banned_words = {"banana", "date", "fig"}
# Remove banned words using set difference
allowed_words = vocabulary.difference(banned_words)
print("Original vocabulary:", sorted(vocabulary))
print("Banned words:", sorted(banned_words))
print("Allowed words …How to Serialize a Dictionary to a Query String in Python
Convert a Python dictionary into a URL-encoded query string using the standard library's urllib.parse.urlencode function.
import urllib.parse
def dict_to_query_string(params):
"""Serialize a dictionary to a URL query string."""
return urllib.parse.urlencode(params)
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = {
"name": "Alice Johnson",
"age": 30,
"city": "New York",
"interests": ["coding", "hiking"]
…How to Set Nested Dict Value Creating Missing Keys in Python
Set a value deep inside a nested dictionary, automatically creating any missing intermediate dicts along the path.
def set_nested_value(d, keys, value):
"""
Set a value in a nested dict, creating missing intermediate keys.
Args:
d: The dict to modify
keys: Iterable of keys forming the path (e.g., ['a', 'b', 'c'])
value: The value to set at the final key
"""
current = d
for key i…How to Sort Dictionary Keys Alphabetically in Python
This code returns a list of dictionary keys sorted alphabetically, using a case-insensitive comparison while preserving the original insertion order for keys that are equal.
data = {
"banana": 3,
"apple": 1,
"Cherry": 5,
"date": 2,
"apple": 4,
"Fig": 6,
"banana": 2,
}
def sort_dict_keys_alphabetically(d):
"""Return a list of keys sorted alphabetically (case-insensitive), stable for duplicates."""
return sorted(d.keys(), key=lambda k: k.lower())
if __n…How to Sort a List of Dictionaries by Key in Python
Sort a list of dictionaries by various keys (grade, age, name) using lambda, itemgetter, and extract unique sorted names into a set.
from operator import itemgetter
# Sample data: a list of dictionaries representing students
students = [
{"name": "Alice", "grade": 88, "age": 23},
{"name": "Bob", "grade": 95, "age": 22},
{"name": "Charlie", "grade": 78, "age": 24},
{"name": "Diana", "grade": 92, "age": 21}
]
# Sort by grade (descen…How to Sort a Python Dictionary by Value Descending
Sort dictionary items by their values in descending order and return a new dictionary.
def sort_dict_by_value_desc(d):
return dict(sorted(d.items(), key=lambda item: item[1], reverse=True))
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = {"apple": 5, "banana": 2, "cherry": 8, "date": 8}
result = sort_dict_by_value_desc(sample)
print(result)How to Subtract Counters in Python for Bag Differences
Use the Counter class's subtraction operator to compute bag differences, removing items and counts that appear in one multiset but not the other.
from collections import Counter
def subtract_counters(bag1, bag2):
"""Return the difference of two Counters (bag1 - bag2)."""
return bag1 - bag2
if __name__ == "__main__":
inventory = Counter(apples=10, bananas=5, oranges=3)
sold = Counter(apples=4, bananas=2, grapes=2)
remaining = subtract_count…How to Transform a List of Dictionaries with Sets in Python
Normalize a list of dict records — cleaning names, extracting unique tags with sets, and building a standardized result.
def transform_data(raw_records):
"""Transform a list of dict records into normalized data with sets for unique values."""
normalized = []
unique_names = set()
all_tags = set()
for record in raw_records:
# Normalize name to lowercase and strip whitespace
name = record.get("name"…Browse by section
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