Converting dict to OrderedDict

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Converting dict to OrderedDict



I am having some trouble using the collections.OrderedDict class. I am using Python 2.7 on Raspbian, the Debian distro for Raspberry Pi. I am trying to print two dictionaries in order for comparison (side-by-side) for a text-adventure. The order is essential to compare accurately.
No matter what I try the dictionaries print in their usual unordered way.


collections.OrderedDict



Here's what I get when I do it on my RPi:


import collections

ship = "NAME": "Albatross",
"HP":50,
"BLASTERS":13,
"THRUSTERS":18,
"PRICE":250

ship = collections.OrderedDict(ship)

print ship
# OrderedDict([('PRICE', 250), ('HP', 50), ('NAME', 'Albatross'), ('BLASTERS', 13), ('THRUSTERS', 18)])



Obviously there is something not right because it is printing the function call and putting the keys and value groups into a nested list...



This is what I got by running something similar on my PC:


import collections

Joe = "Age": 28, "Race": "Latino", "Job": "Nurse"
Bob = "Age": 25, "Race": "White", "Job": "Mechanic", "Random": "stuff"

#Just for clarity:
Joe = collections.OrderedDict(Joe)
Bob = collections.OrderedDict(Bob)

print Joe
# OrderedDict([('Age', 28), ('Race', 'Latino'), ('Job', 'Nurse')])
print Bob
# OrderedDict([('Age', 25), ('Race', 'White'), ('Job', 'Mechanic'), ('Random', 'stuff')])



This time, it is in order, but it shouldn't be printing the other things though right? (The putting it into list and showing function call.)



Where am I making my error? It shouldn't be anything to do with the pi version of Python because it is just the Linux version.





Note: OrderedDict is sorted by insertion order, not alphanumeric key order.
– el.pescado
Aug 29 '17 at 8:35


OrderedDict




3 Answers
3



You are creating a dictionary first, then passing that dictionary to an OrderedDict. By the time you do that, the ordering is no longer going to be correct. dict is inherently not ordered.


OrderedDict


dict



Pass in a sequence of tuples instead:


ship = [("NAME", "Albatross"),
("HP", 50),
("BLASTERS", 13),
("THRUSTERS", 18),
("PRICE", 250)]
ship = collections.OrderedDict(ship)



What you see when you print the OrderedDict is it's representation, and it is entirely correct. OrderedDict([('PRICE', 250), ('HP', 50), ('NAME', 'Albatross'), ('BLASTERS', 13), ('THRUSTERS', 18)]) just shows you, in a reproducable representation, what the contents are of the OrderedDict.


OrderedDict


OrderedDict([('PRICE', 250), ('HP', 50), ('NAME', 'Albatross'), ('BLASTERS', 13), ('THRUSTERS', 18)])


OrderedDict





Ok so OrderedDict will CREATE the dictionary for me? Also, to print without the reproducable representation can I just print the variable OrderedDict is used in? i.e.: print ship ?? Thanks :)
– pythonpiboy
Mar 29 '13 at 21:45



print ship





@pythonpiboy: printing ship will print the value it refers to, so it'll print the OrderedDict representation.
– Martijn Pieters
Mar 29 '13 at 21:49


ship


OrderedDict





Question: In the way you've described, OrderedDict is making an ordered "list". Doesn't that defeat the purpose? It's creating just a list of elements, not dictionaries with keys and values...
– pythonpiboy
Mar 29 '13 at 22:34





The type acts like both; a mapping that retains order. To create one with ordering, you need to give it items in order. Since a standard dict can't do that, you give it a list of tuples instead. Once the OrderedDict is created it is a dictionary.
– Martijn Pieters
Mar 29 '13 at 22:39


OrderedDict





Sounds like the confusion is from assuming an OrderedDict "applies" an ordering, rather than just retaining an ordering. I certainly assumed it would sort the input upon creation -- or that the items() function would return sorted items regardless of when they were inserted. Instead it just keeps whatever ordering you provide.
– whiterook6
Jul 20 '16 at 17:29



If you can't edit this part of code where your dict was defined you can still order it at any point in any way you want, like this:


from collections import OrderedDict

order_of_keys = ["key1", "key2", "key3", "key4", "key5"]
list_of_tuples = [(key, your_dict[key]) for key in order_of_keys]
your_dict = OrderedDict(list_of_tuples)



Most of the time we go for OrderedDict when we required a custom order not a generic one like ASC etc.



Here is the proposed solution:


import collections
ship = "NAME": "Albatross",
"HP":50,
"BLASTERS":13,
"THRUSTERS":18,
"PRICE":250

ship = collections.OrderedDict(ship)

print ship


new_dict = collections.OrderedDict()
new_dict["NAME"]=ship["NAME"]
new_dict["HP"]=ship["HP"]
new_dict["BLASTERS"]=ship["BLASTERS"]
new_dict["THRUSTERS"]=ship["THRUSTERS"]
new_dict["PRICE"]=ship["PRICE"]


print new_dict



This will be output:


OrderedDict([('PRICE', 250), ('HP', 50), ('NAME', 'Albatross'), ('BLASTERS', 13), ('THRUSTERS', 18)])
OrderedDict([('NAME', 'Albatross'), ('HP', 50), ('BLASTERS', 13), ('THRUSTERS', 18), ('PRICE', 250)])



Note: The new sorted dictionaries maintain their sort order when entries are deleted. But when new keys are added, the keys are appended to the end and the sort is not maintained.(official doc)






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