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Python Introducing Dictionaries Iterating and Packing with Dictionaries Packing with Dictionaries

Stheven Cabral
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Stheven Cabral
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 29,854 Points
Posted by Stheven Cabral
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Stheven Cabral
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 29,854 Points

How do you pack a dictionary into a function?

In the 'Packing with Dictionaries' video, the instructor packs a sequence of variables and arguments (i.e. name='Doug') into a function using **kwargs. The title of the video is misleading as it doesn't actually pass a dictionary into the function. How do you actually pass each element of a dictionary into a function?

pet
pet
10,908 Points
pet
pet
10,908 Points

Just so you know, you can't pack a dictionary into a function. Also the video title just is Packing with Dictionaries and if you read the description it says "Learn how to pack with dictionaries." Hope this helps. :)

1 Answer

Leon Silcott
Leon Silcott
27,583 Points

To unpack a dictionary into a function, you first must define the dictionary with the needed parameter(s) for function as key-value pairs i.e.

example_dictionary = {
    'name' : 'user',
    'role': 'pythonista'
}


def example_print_info_for(name, role):
    print(f"My name is {name}, and I am a {role}")

you then use the double asterisks (**) before the dictionary name when calling the function i.e.

example_print_info_for(**example_dictionary)

You should get the output

My name is user, and I am a pythonista

Jon Koch
Jon Koch
1,448 Points

Thanks for this. I had been thinking that I had to use *args or **kwargs exactly until I read this. I thought it would make more sense this way and was just waiting to see it used as you did.