Tuesday Tip #20: Dictionary comprehensions in Python 📚


Hi Reader,

Tomorrow, I’m re-launching Python Essentials for Data Scientists to celebrate a HUGE course upgrade:

  • NEW: 22 additional video lessons
  • NEW: 7-part project to practice everything you’re learning

There will be a limited-time offer to celebrate the re-launch, so watch out for tomorrow’s email! 💸

I’ll be sending a few extra emails this week. I know your inbox is precious, so I’ll be giving you FREE access to 3 modules from the course! That way, you can benefit regardless of whether you choose to enroll. 💌

Thank YOU for being a valued reader! 🙏 Now let’s get to today’s tip…


👉 Tip #20: Use dictionary comprehensions in Python

Let’s say we had this list of words:

If we wanted to create a list of the word lengths, we could use a for loop:

We start with an empty list, and each time the loop runs, len(word) is appended to the list.

But as you might know, a list comprehension is even better for this scenario:

The effect is the same, but the code is much more concise.

Let’s now pretend that we wanted to create a dictionary containing both the word and its length. Once again, let’s use a for loop:

This time, we start with an empty dictionary, and each time the loop runs, a key-value pair is added to the dictionary.

You can actually convert this into a dictionary comprehension:

The structure is similar to a list comprehension, except there are curly braces { } instead of brackets [ ], and the first part of the comprehension (called the “expression”) is word:len(word) instead of just len(word).

You can read it as follows: “For each word, create a key-value pair of the word and its length.”

Visually, I really like the dictionary comprehension, since the “key:value” structure of the expression matches the way the dictionary prints out!

Let me know if you have any questions! 💬


Today’s tip is just one of the 22 NEW lessons from Python Essentials for Data Scientists!

If you want to build a solid foundation in Python and stay relevant in the world of AI, watch out for tomorrow’s email!

- Kevin

P.S. Weird Al Yankovic is human!

Do you know someone who could benefit from learning Python? Please send them to pythoncourse.io so that they can hear about the launch! 🚀

Learn Data Science from Data School 📊

Join 25,000+ aspiring Data Scientists and receive Python & Data Science tips every Tuesday!

Read more from Learn Data Science from Data School 📊

Hi Reader, Next week, I’ll be offering a Black Friday sale on ALL of my courses. I’ll send you the details this Thursday! 🚨 👉 Tip #50: What is a "method" in Python? In Python, a method is a function that can be used on an object because of the object's type. For example, if you create a Python list, the "append" method can be used on that list. All lists have an "append" method simply because they are lists: If you create a Python string, the "upper" method can be used on that string simply...

Hi Reader, I appreciate everyone who has emailed to check on me and my family post-Helene! It has been more than 6 weeks since the hurricane, and most homes in Asheville (mine included) still don't have clean, running water. We're hopeful that water service will return within the next month. In the meantime, we're grateful for all of the aid agencies providing free bottled water, free meals, places to shower, and so much more. ❤️ Thanks for allowing me to share a bit of my personal life with...

Hi Reader, Regardless of whether you enrolled, thanks for sticking with me through the launch of my new course! 🚀 I've already started exploring topics for the next course... 😄 🔗 Link of the week git cheat sheet (PDF) A well-organized and highly readable cheat sheet from Julia Evans, the brilliant mind behind Wizard Zines! 👉 Tip #48: Three ways to set your environment variables in Python I was playing around with Mistral LLM this weekend (via LangChain in Python), and I needed to set an...