The Python slice() function can be used to get a portion of a list, tuple, string, or other sequence. This article will show you how to use it. Python slice() Function Syntax Here’s the syntax for the Python slice() function: slice(START, STOP, STEP) Note that: slice() does not return the specified portion of an object It returns a slice object which is used to retrieve the specified portion from a sequence – it does not contain the sequence itself. This is probably best demonstrated in the below examples START is the starting position (index) of the sequence you … Read more

Here’s everything you need to know about the Dictionary data type in Python, what it can store, and how to use it. Python has several built-in data types for storing data (more than other languages like JavaScript) – from basic types like integers, floating-point numbers, and strings to more complex types like lists, tuples, and dictionaries. What is a Type? A variable’s type defines what kind of value it can store and what can be done with it. What is a Dictionary? A dictionary is a variable type … Read more

This short tutorial will show you how to add single or multiple items (as key:value pairs) to a dictionary in the Python programming language. What is a Dictionary in Python? We’ve covered what dictionaries are in our article here. There are a couple of ways to add items to a dictionary, so we’ve put together this article separately to make sure we’ve got everything covered! Checking Whether a Key Exists in a Dictionary As outlined in the article linked above, dictionaries store data as a series of key:value pairs. Before … Read more

This article will show you the simplest ways to merge two or more dictionaries in the Python programming language. Note that the code examples in this article are written for Python version 3 – and will not work with Python version 2! What is a Dictionary in Python? We’ve covered what dictionaries are in our article here. As there are a couple of ways to merge multiple dictionaries in Python, we’ve put together this article separately to make sure we’ve got everything covered! Merging/Joining Using Dictionary Union … Read more

The ord() function returns an integer representation of a Unicode character. Here’s why it does that and how it’s used. Python ord() Function Syntax First, here’s the syntax for the ord() function: ord(CHAR) Note that: CHAR is the single Unicode character you wish to receive the corresponding integer representation of Only a single character is allowed! OK, But Why? The integer returned by ord() is the Unicode code point of the character. It’s a unique number that identifies the character. Unicode represents characters from several languages and includes symbols, emojis, and combinations of all of them. When data is saved … Read more

We’ve covered how to use the slice function to slice strings, tuples, lists, and other sequences. This tutorial will show you how to slice dictionaries, with examples. Dictionaries Not sure what a dictionary is in the Python programming language? Get up to speed with our article here. The slice() Function and the islice() Function Check out the full article here on how the slice() function works – we’ve covered it in-depth. Unfortunately, the slice() function built-in to Python does not work with dictionaries. If you do try to use slice() with a dictionary type variable, you will receive the following error: TypeError: … Read more