- A Dictionary Example
- What You Should See
- What Dictionaries Can Do
- Study Drills
- Common Student Questions
Common Student Questions
What is the difference between a list and a dictionary? A list is for an ordered list of items. A dictionary (or dict) is for matching some items (called “keys”) to other items (called “values”).
What would I use a dictionary for? When you have to take one value and “look up” another value. In fact, you could call dictionaries “look up tables.”
What would I use a list for? Use a list for any sequence of things that needs to be in order, and you only need to look them up by a numeric index.
What if I need a dictionary, but I need it to be in order? Take a look at the collections.OrderedDict data structure in Python. Search for it online to find the documentation.