listofdicts 1.0.0

A strongly typed list of dictionaries data type with validation and serialization support.

listofdicts

Enterprise-grade strongly-typed list of dictionaries for Python

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Summary

listofdicts is a powerful custom Python data structure designed for modern data processing, data pipelines, ETL systems, API layers, and JSON-based applications where structured lists of dictionaries are commonly used.

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Key Features

• ✅ Only allows dictionaries inside.
• ✅ Optional schema validation (enforce required keys and value types).
• ✅ Optional immutability (lock data after loading).
• ✅ Full JSON serialization/deserialization.
• ✅ Supports deep copying and safe mutations.
• ✅ Strict runtime type safety.
• ✅ Merge and update support.
• ✅ Fully tested and production-grade.

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Installation

pip install listofdicts

Usage

from listofdicts import listofdicts

# Define schema for safety
schema = {
    'id': int,
    'name': str,
    'active': bool
}

lod = listofdicts([
    {'id': 1, 'name': 'Alice', 'active': True},
    {'id': 2, 'name': 'Bob', 'active': False}
], schema=schema)

# Append valid
lod.append({'id': 3, 'name': 'Carol', 'active': True})

# Partial update
lod.update_item(0, {'active': False})

# Merge with another listofdicts
lod2 = listofdicts([
    {'id': 4, 'name': 'Eve', 'active': True}
], schema=schema)

merged = lod.merge(lod2)

# Serialize to JSON
json_str = merged.to_json(indent=2)

# Deserialize from JSON
restored = listofdicts.from_json(json_str, schema=schema)

print(restored)

Why Use listofdicts?

• Prevent accidental bad data.
• Fail fast with strict schema enforcement.
• Easy to serialize and deserialize.
• Safer than plain list[dict].
• Perfect for: ETL, API validation, data cleaning pipelines.

API Summary

Method Description append() Append a validated dictionary extend() Extend with another listofdicts merge() Merge two instances update_item() Partially update an entry copy() Deep copy as_mutable() Return mutable copy as_immutable() Return immutable copy to_json() Serialize to JSON from_json() Deserialize from JSON immutable Property to check mutability schema Property to access schema

Directory Structure

listofdicts/
    ├── src/
    │   ├── __init__.py
    │   └── listofdicts.py
    ├── tests/
    │   └── test_listofdicts.py
    ├── README.md
    ├── pyproject.toml
    ├── setup.cfg
    └── LICENSE