"Faster JSON Conversion: 5 Python Techniques for Dictionaries"

Working programs rely heavily on input data, whether it is provided during execution or hard-coded at the beginning. JSON, a highly organized and user-friendly data storage technology, has become one of the most common ways to store such data. And while JSON's structure may seem similar to that of a Python dictionary, the two are not the same.

In this article, we will cover a few common ways to convert Python dictionaries to JSON. But first, let's take a moment to understand what JSON is and how it differs from Python dictionaries.

What is JSON, Anyway?

JSON, which stands for JavaScript Object Notation, is a standard format for data exchange. JSON allows data to be transferred as a text, meaning it can be easily sent over a network. JSON uses APIs and databases that are easy for both machines and humans to read and understand. In Python, developers access JSON functionality through an inbuilt package called "json".

JSON stores data in the form of key-value pairs inside curly brackets({}). This is similar to how a Python dictionary stores data. However, the keys in JSON must be string objects with double quotation marks surrounding them. Meanwhile, the values can take any data type, such as nested JSON or any other sequence data type like an array.

Example:

Consider the following JSON code:

• import json
• a = '{ "name":"Anna", "age":29, "city":"New York" }'
• b = json.loads(a)
• print(b["city"])
• This code will output the string "New York".

• Introduction to Python Dictionaries

Python dictionaries are key-value stores that let developers manipulate groups of data elements as a single entity. A dictionary operates just like a map and is unique in that it is not supported by any other data type. Also, unlike single-value elements, such as floats or integers, dictionary structures allow developers to store multiple values of all data types for each key.

Dictionary data is formatted using the curly brackets({}) and the colon(:) to represent keys and their associated values, respectively.

While dictionary values can be of any data type and allow duplicate values, dictionary keys are immutable and must be unique.

Example:

Consider the following Python dictionary:

• sample_dict = { "vegetable": "broccoli", "fruit": "banana", "dessert": "chocolate cake" }
• print(sample_dict)
• This code will output the following:
• {'vegetable': 'broccoli', 'fruit': 'banana', 'dessert': 'chocolate cake'}
• Remember that Python dictionary keys are case-sensitive, so keys with the same name but with different cases are treated differently.

• Differences Between Python Dictionaries and JSON

• Here's a quick rundown of the differences between Python dictionaries and JSON:
• Python Dictionaries
• JSON
• Keys can be any hashable object
• Keys can only be strings
• Keys cannot be repeated
• Keys can be ordered and repeated
• No default value is set
• Keys have a default value of "undefined"
• Values can be accessed by subscripting
• As we can see, while there are similarities between Python dictionaries and JSON, there are also some key differences that developers need to be aware of when working with these two data storage technologies.

• Accessing Values in Python Through Dot and Bracket Notation

You can access values in Python through the use of a dot (.) or bracket notation ([]). When working with string objects, you can use single or double quotes, but double quotes are necessary for the string object. In addition, values can be returned as a "dict" or "string" object type.

1) Using the dumps() Function to Convert a Dictionary to JSON in Python

Python includes a default module called "json" that has an in-built function, dumps(), which you can use to convert a dictionary into a JSON object. The "json" module makes it easy to parse JSON strings, which contain JSON objects. Here's an example of how to convert a Python dictionary to a JSON object:

• For Example
• import json Fruit_Dict = {'name': 'Apple', 'color': 'Red', 'quantity': 10, 'price': 60 } Fruit_Json = json.dumps(Fruit_Dict) print(Fruit_Json)
• Output
• {"name": "Apple", "color": "Red", "quantity": 10, "price": 60}

•  

• 2) Converting a Nested Dictionary to JSON

• To create a nested dictionary, you can simply declare a new dictionary inside the default dictionary. You can use the dumps function to convert the nested dictionary into a JSON object, where indent=3 refers to the space at the beginning of each code line:
• For Example
• import json dictionary = { 'fruit':{"Grapes": "10","color": "green"}, 'vegetable':{"chilli": "4","color": "red"}, } result = json.dumps(dictionary, indent = 3) print(result)
• Output
• { "fruit": { "Grapes": "10", "color": "green" }, "vegetable": { "chilli": "4", "Grapes": "10", }, "vegetable": { "chilli": "4", "color": "pink" }

•  

• 3) Converting a Dictionary to JSON Quotes

You can declare a class and use it for string representation to convert it into a JSON object. Declare the class using the __str__(self) method, and assign the variable "collect" along with the variable "result" to convert it into a JSON object.

For Example

import json class fruits(dict): def __str__(self): return json.dumps(self) collect = [['apple','grapes']] result = fruits(collect) print(result)

Results

4) Transforming a Dictionary to a JSON Array

You can easily convert a dictionary into a JSON object by first checking the dictionary's keys and values and then incorporating them into an array. The value is stored by using a for loop, and the dictionary is stored by using the dumps() method. See the example below for a better understanding of this method.

Example:

import json dictionary = {'Apple': 3, 'Grapes': 1} array = [ {'key' : i, 'value' : dictionary[i]} for i in dictionary] print(json.dumps(array))

Results:

[{"key": "Apple", "value": 3}, {"key": "Grapes", "value": 1}]

5) Converting a Dictionary to JSON Using the sort_keys Method

With this technique, you can use the sort_keys parameter within the dumps() function and set it to "True". Doing this will sort the dictionary before converting it into a JSON object. If the sort_keys parameter is not set to "True", then the dictionary will not be sorted, which could result in challenges while finding the JSON object in Python.

Example:

import json dictionary ={"Name": "jack", "Branch": "IT", "CGPA": "8.6"} result = json.dumps(dictionary, indent = 3, sort_keys = True) print(result)

Results:

{

"Branch": "IT",

"CGPA": "8.6",

"Name": "jack"

}

Conclusion

As previously discussed, a dictionary is a data structure in Python, while JSON is a data format. To exchange information between various processes, it is recommended that you utilize JSON serialization on your Python dictionary. Thus, it is important to grasp all the aforementioned procedures for transforming Python dictionaries into JSON objects if you want your programming to be effective and efficient. For additional information on Python transformation techniques, visit our article "3 Methods of Transforming a List to a Tuple in Python".