How Do I Create Independent Copies of Dictionaries in Python?

Shallow Copying Dictionaries: Maintaining Independence

Consider a scenario where you assign dict2 to dict1. However, when you modify dict2, you unexpectedly encounter changes in the original dict1. This behavior stems from the fact that Python doesn't implicitly copy objects. Instead, it creates references, causing both variables to point to the same dictionary object.

Explicit Copying: Maintaining Isolation

To prevent this behavior, you need to explicitly copy the dictionary using one of the following methods:

1. dict(dict1): This method creates a new dictionary object with the same key-value pairs as dict1.

dict2 = dict(dict1)

2. dict1.copy(): This method also creates a new dictionary object as a shallow copy of dict1.

dict2 = dict1.copy()

By using either of these methods, you create a new and independent copy of dict1, ensuring that changes made to dict2 do not affect the original dict1.

The above is the detailed content of How Do I Create Independent Copies of Dictionaries in Python?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!