Literal Dict

literal-dict is a Python utility that allows for the creation of dictionary objects with a syntax reminiscent of JavaScript object notation. This tool is particularly useful for developers looking to streamline their code by reducing the verbosity commonly associated with dictionary creation in Python.

Features

• Intuitive Variable Inclusion: Create Python dictionaries using a syntax similar to JavaScript objects: automatically uses variable names as keys, simplifying the process of dictionary creation.
• Flexible Dictionary Implementations: Supports custom dictionary implementations, enabling behaviors like ordered dictionaries, default dictionaries, dot dictionaries, and more.
• Various Python Distribution Supports: This package is tested under almost every popular python implementations.

Installation

pip install literal-dict

Usage

Basic Dictionary Creation

Start by importing DictBuilder from the package:

from literal_dict import DictBuilder

Create a DictBuilder instance:

d = DictBuilder()

Now, you can create dictionaries with a simplified syntax:

name = "Muspi Merol"
age = 20

user = d[name, age, "active": True]
print(user)  # Output: {'name': 'Muspi Merol', 'age': 20, 'active': True}

Using Custom Dictionary Implementations

DictBuilder allows specifying a custom dict-like type:

Example with types.SimpleNamespace

Using SimpleNamespace from the types module allows for attribute-style access to dictionary keys. This can make your code cleaner and more readable in some cases.

from types import SimpleNamespace

from literal_dict import DictBuilder

d = DictBuilder(lambda dict: SimpleNamespace(**dict))

name = "Muspi Merol"
email = "me@promplate.dev"

person = d[name, email]
print(person.name)  # Output: Muspi Merol
print(person.email)  # Output: me@promplate.dev

Note: When using SimpleNamespace, the returned object is not a dictionary but an instance of SimpleNamespace, which allows for dot-notation access to the attributes.

Example with collections.defaultdict

from collections import defaultdict
from functools import partial

from literal_dict import DictBuilder

d = DictBuilder(partial(defaultdict, int))

a = 1

obj = d[a, "b":2]
print(obj["c"])  # Output: 0, since 'c' does not exist, it returns the default int value

Conclusion

The Literal Dict Builder offers a succinct and intuitive way to create dictionaries in Python, drawing inspiration from JavaScript's object notation. Its support for custom dictionary implementations adds a layer of flexibility, allowing developers to tailor their data structures to fit their needs.