[Tutor] outputting dictionary key/value pairs

[Terry Carroll]

On Fri, 1 Aug 2003, Terence Lo wrote:

>  supoose i create a dictionary of the form:
> 
> dict = {"d1": "a", "d2": "b", "d3": "c"}
> 
> why is it that when i loop through the dictionary,
> 
> eg.
> 
> for k,v in dict.items():
> 	print k,v
> 
> 
> the dictionary items aren't output in the order they appear in the
> dictionary.  they seem to be returned in an arbitrary order.

Yep. that's the way dictionaries work.
 
> is there a quick way to loop through the dict and output the contents in
> order?  namely  d1 .. d2.. d3 ?

Try this:

keylist = dict.keys()
keylist.sort()
for k in keylist:
    print k, dict[k]

-- 
Terry Carroll        |   "I say to you that the VCR is to the American
Santa Clara, CA      |   film producer and the American public as the 
carroll at tjc.com      |   Boston strangler is to the woman home alone."  
                     |       Jack Valenti, MPAA President
Modell delendus est  |       Testimony before Congress, 1982