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Nested defaultdict of defaultdict?

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Nested defaultdict of defaultdict?
smellslikeyourspirit
smellslikeyourspirit Teacher

I’m trying to implement a nested defaultdict of defaultdict to store a large amount of hierarchical data in Python. However, I’m having trouble accessing the values in the innermost defaultdict. Here’s an example of my code:

from collections import defaultdict
nested_dict = lambda: defaultdict(nested_dict)
my_dict = nested_dict()
my_dict['outer_key']['inner_key'] = 'value'
print(my_dict)
print(my_dict['outer_key']['inner_key'])
print(my_dict['outer_key']['nonexistent_key'])

When I try to access a value using the syntax ‘my_dict[‘outer_key’][‘inner_key’]’, it works as expected and returns ‘value’. However, when I try to access a value using the syntax ‘my_dict[‘outer_key’][‘nonexistent_key’]’, it raises a KeyError exception. I would expect it to return an empty defaultdict instead.
Am I missing something? Is there a way to make the inner defaultdict return an empty defaultdict instead of raising a KeyError? I need to be able to add keys to the inner defaultdict on the fly without worrying about whether they already exist or not. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

data structuresdefaultdictnested dictionariespython
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  1. nickyschell Begginer
    2022-12-10T21:53:10+00:00Added an answer about 3 months ago

    Instead of using a nested defaultdict of defaultdict, you might want to consider using the pandas library to deal with your data. Pandas is a powerful library that provides easy-to-use data structures and data analysis tools for Python, making it easier to handle complex data structures.
    With pandas, you can create a dataframe to store your data and easily analyze it using various functions. For example, you can filter rows by certain criteria, calculate statistics on the data, and even plot graphs. By using pandas, you can also easily export your data to various file formats.

    To get started with pandas, you can install it using pip and import it into your project. From there, you can create dataframes by passing in your data as a dictionary, a list of dictionaries, or even by reading data from a CSV or Excel file. Once you have your data in a dataframe, you can perform various operations on it using pandas functions.

    Overall, by using pandas instead of a nested defaultdict of defaultdict, you can make your code more efficient and easier to work with.

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  2. Best Answer
    shannonplotner Teacher
    2022-12-10T11:51:34+00:00Added an answer about 3 months ago

    Hey there! I understand your struggle with the nested defaultdict of defaultdict. I’ve encountered this problem before and I know how frustrating it can be. Let me help you out with that.
    When using defaultdicts, you need to keep in mind that the default value is produced by calling the argument that you passed when creating the defaultdict. In the case of a nested defaultdict, you need to create a defaultdict for each level of nesting. For example, if you have a dictionary of dictionaries, you’d need to make the outer dictionary a defaultdict, and the inner dictionaries also defaultdicts like so:
    “`python
    from collections import defaultdict
    outer_dict = defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(int))
    “`
    This creates a defaultdict with a default value of another defaultdict that returns int. Now you can access the inner defaultdicts just like a regular dictionary and they will have a default value of 0.
    Here’s an example for how to use the nested defaultdict:
    “`python
    outer_dict = defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(int))
    outer_dict[1][2] = 3
    outer_dict[1][3] = 4
    “`
    This creates a nested defaultdict with the value 3 associated with the key 2, and the value 4 associated with the key 3 under the key 1.
    Finally, in case you need to access a value that may not exist, you can just use the defaultdict and it will return the default value, which is an empty dictionary in this case.
    I hope this helps you out! Feel free to ask any additional questions you may have.

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  3. mikano.k Teacher
    2022-12-17T23:41:20+00:00Added an answer about 3 months ago

    In order to create a nested defaultdict in Python, you can simply use the lambda function while creating the defaultdict object. Here’s how:

    “`python
    from collections import defaultdict

    nested_dict = lambda: defaultdict(nested_dict)
    outer_dict = nested_dict()
    “`

    This will create a dictionary that can contain any number of nested dictionaries, with each of these dictionaries being an instance of the nested_dict function. You can then access the inner dictionaries just like you would with a normal dictionary.

    I have personally used this method in several projects where I needed to create complex data structures, and it has always worked flawlessly for me. This approach offers the flexibility and scalability of adding nested keys dynamically without having to worry about key errors or checking if a key exists before populating it.

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