[Tut] Python Print Dictionary Values Without “dict_values”

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Python Print Dictionary Values Without “dict_values”

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Problem Formulation and Solution Overview

If you print all values from a dictionary in Python using

Code:

print(dict.values())

, Python returns a

Code:

dict_values

object, a view of the dictionary values. The representation prints the keys enclosed in a weird

Code:

dict_values(...)

, for example:

Code:

dict_values([1, 2, 3])

.

Here’s an example:

Code:

my_dict = {'name': 'Carl', 'age': 42, 'income': 100000} print(my_dict.values()) # dict_values(['Carl', 42, 100000])

There are multiple ways to change the string representation of the values, so that the

Code:

print()

output doesn’t yield the strange

Code:

dict_values

view object.

Method 1: Convert to List

An easy way to obtain a pretty output when printing the dictionary values without

Code:

dict_values(...)

representation is to convert the

Code:

dict_value

object to a list using the

Code:

list()

built-in function. For instance,

Code:

print(list(my_dict.value()))

prints the dictionary values as a simple list.

Here’s an example:

Code:

my_dict = {'name': 'Carl', 'age': 42, 'income': 100000} print(list(my_dict.values())) # ['Carl', 42, 100000]

So far, so simple. Read on to learn or recap some important Python features and improve your skills. There are many paths to Rome!

Method 2: Unpacking

An easy and Pythonic way to print a dictionary without the

Code:

dict_values

prefix is to unpack all values into the

Code:

print()

function using the asterisk operator. This works because the

Code:

print()

function allows an arbitrary number of values as input. It prints those values separated by a single whitespace character per default.

Here’s an example:

Code:

my_dict = {'name': 'Carl', 'age': 42, 'income': 100000} print(*my_dict.values()) # Carl 42 100000

It cannot get any more concise, frankly.

Of course, you can change the separator and end arguments accordingly to obtain more control of the output:

Code:

my_dict = {'name': 'Carl', 'age': 42, 'income': 100000} print(*my_dict.values(), sep='\n', end='\nThe End')

Output:

Code:

Carl 42 100000 The End

Do you need even greater flexibility than this? No problem! See here:

Method 3: String Join Function and Generator Expression

To convert the dictionary values to a single string object without

Code:

'dict_values'

in it and with maximal control, you can use the

Code:

string.join()

function in combination with a generator expression and the built-in

Code:

str()

function.

Here’s an example:

Code:

my_dict = {'name': 'Carl', 'age': 42, 'income': 100000} print(', '.join(str(x) for x in my_dict.values())) # Carl, 42, 100000

Note: You can replace the comma

Code:

','

with your desired separator character and modify the representation of each individual element by modifying the expression

Code:

str(x)

of the generator expression to something arbitrary complicated.

See here for something crazy that wouldn’t make any sense:

Code:

my_dict = {'name': 'Carl', 'age': 42, 'income': 100000} print(' | '.join('x' + str(x) + 'x' for x in my_dict.values())) # xCarlx | x42x | x100000x

Note that you could also use the

Code:

repr()

function instead of the

Code:

str()

function in this example—it wouldn’t matter too much.

Finally, I’d recommend you check out this tutorial to learn more how generator expressions work—many Python beginners struggle with this concept even though it’s ubiquitous in expert coders’ code bases.

Recommended Tutorial: Understanding One-Line Generators in Python