[Tutor] dictionary question

[Kent Johnson]

David Driver wrote:
> If I
> create a dictionary with the same keys, will it str the same way?

This behaviour is not guaranteed and I wouldn't depend on it. It can break if any other operations have happened on the dict; for example

 >>> d=dict(a=1,b=2,c=23)
 >>> str(d)
"{'a': 1, 'c': 23, 'b': 2}"
 >>> for i in range(100):
 ...   d[i]=i
 ...
 >>> for i in range(100):
 ...   del d[i]
 ...
 >>> str(d)
"{'c': 23, 'b': 2, 'a': 1}"

The order could also change between Python versions if the internal implementation of dict changes.

How about 
 >>> str(sorted(d.items()))
"[('a', 1), ('b', 2), ('c', 23)]"

Kent