Python dictionary get() Method

The Python dictionary get() method is used to retrieve the value corresponding to the specified key.

This method accept keys and values, where value is optional. If the key is not found in the dictionary, but the value is specified, then this method retrieves the specified value. On the other hand, if the key is not found in the dictionary and the value is also not specified, then this method retrieves None.

When working with dictionaries, it is a common practice to retrieve a value for the specified key in the dictionary. For instance, if you run a book store, you might wish to find out how many book orders you received.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of the Python dictionary get() method −

dict.get(key, value)

Parameters

This method accepts two parameters as shown below:

  • key − This is the Key to be searched in the dictionary.

  • value (optional) − This is the Value to be returned in case the specified key does not exists. It's default value is None.

Return Value

This method return a value for the given key.

  • If key is not available and the value is also not given, then it returns the default value None.

  • If the key is not given and the value is specified, then it returns this value.

Example

If the key passed as an argument to the get() method is present in the dictionary, it returns it's corresponding value.

The following example shows the usage of Python dictionary get() method. Here a dictionary 'dict' is created which contains the keys: 'Name' and 'Age'. Then, the key 'Age' is passed as an argument to the method. Therefore, its corresponding value '7' is retrieved from the dictionary:

# creating the dictionary
dict = {'Name': 'Zebra', 'Age': 7}
# printing the value of the given key
print ("Value : %s" %  dict.get('Age'))

When we run above program, it produces following result −

Value : 7

Example

If the key passed as an argument is not present in the dictionary, and the value is also not specified, then this method returns the default value None.

In here, the key 'Roll_No' is passed as an argument to the get() method. This key is not found in the dictionary 'dict' and the value is also not specified. Therefore, the default value 'None' is returned using the dict.get() method.

# creating the dictionary
dict = {'Name': 'Rahul', 'Age': 7}
# printing the value of the given key
print ("The value is: ", dict.get('Roll_No'))

Following is an output of the above code −

The value is:  None

Example

If we pass a key and its value as an argument which is not present in the dictionary, then this method returns the specified value.

In the code below, a key 'Education' and a value 'Never' is passed as an argument to the dict.get() method. Since the given key is not found in the dictionary 'dict', the current value is returned.

# creating the dictionary
dict = {'Name': 'Zebra', 'Age': 7}
res = dict.get('Education', "Never")
print ("Value : %s" % res)

While executing the above code we get the following output −

Value : Never

Example

In the example given below a nested dictionary 'dict_1' is created. Then using the nested get() method the value of the given key is returned.

dict_1 = {'Universe' : {'Planet' : 'Earth'}}
print("The dictionary is: ", dict_1)
# using nested get() method
result = dict_1.get('Universe', {}).get('Planet')
print("The nested value obtained is: ", result)

Output of the above code is as follows −

The dictionary is: {'Universe': {'Planet': 'Earth'}}
The nested value obtained is: Earth
python_dictionary.htm
Advertisements