How to initialize a Multi-Dimensional Array in Python?

Question

I apologise if this is a duplicate question but I could not find any similar example anywhere so seeking your help.

lookup = {}

# These values will be filled by DB lookup service at runtime
# Maximum array length for category is unknown before program start 
# Format [Lookup Category], [Lookup Key], Lookup Id

lookup['name']['John'] = 1
lookup['name']['Jane'] = 2
lookup['name']['Joe'] = 3
lookup['gender']['Male'] = 1
lookup['gender']['Female'] = 2
lookup['country']['Japan'] = "jp"
lookup['country']['China'] = "ch"

print lookup['name']['Jane']
print lookup['gender']['Female']
print lookup['country']['China']

This question is extremely vague... you seem to have some sort of problem involving nested dictionaries, but that's all I can currently grasp from it. — l4mpi
– l4mpi, Commented Jul 29, 2013 at 11:09

user2629996 · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-29 11:31:02Z

6

You probably want collections.defaultdict

e.g.

from collections import defaultdict

lookup = defaultdict(dict)
lookup['name']['John'] = 1
lookup['name']['Jane'] = 2
lookup['name']['Joe'] = 3
lookup['gender']['Male'] = 1
lookup['gender']['Female'] = 2
lookup['country']['Japan'] = "jp"
lookup['country']['China'] = "ch"

print lookup['name']['Jane']
print lookup['gender']['Female']
print lookup['country']['China']

edited Jul 29, 2013 at 11:31

user2629996

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answered Jul 29, 2013 at 11:10

Jakob Bowyer

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2 Comments

user2629996 Over a year ago

Amazing. This is exactly what I was looking for. Appreciate quick help. Thank you again.

Jakob Bowyer Over a year ago

@user2629996 Remember to mark the question as accepted using the green tick. Enjoy your day

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