[Python-Dev] non-mutating 'choose' to go with 'dict.popitem'?

[Thomas Wouters]

On Sun, May 06, 2001 at 02:15:57PM -0400, Tim Peters wrote:

> Given the new dict iterators in 2.2, there's an easier fast way that doesn't
> mutate the dict even under the covers:

> def arb(dict):
>     if dict:
>         return dict.iteritems().next()
>     raise KeyError("arb passed an empty dict")

You probably want:

arb = dict.iteritems().next

so that you don't keep on returning the same key,value pair.

-- 
Thomas Wouters <thomas@xs4all.net>

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