Python Dictionary get()

Python Dictionary get() is a built-in function that returns the value for a specified key if present in the dictionary. If the key is not present, it returns None by default. 

get() Syntax

The syntax of the get() method is:

dict.get(key,value) 

get() Parameters

The get() method takes two parameters.

  • key– the key name of the item for which you want to return the value.
  • value (Optional) – Value to be returned if the key is not found in the dictionary. If not provided, defaults to None.

get() Return Value

The get() method returns 

  • the value of an item with the specified key if the key is present in the dictionary.
  • None if the key is not found in the dictionary, and the value argument is not specified.
  • value to be returned if the key is not found.

Example 1 – How to use the get() method in Dictionary

company = {"name": "Microsoft", "location": "Seattle"}

print("Company Name:", company.get("name"))
print("Company Location:", company.get("location"))

# In case of wrong key name without default value
print("Company Headquarters:", company.get("headquarters"))

# In case of wrong key name with default value
print("Company Headquarters:", company.get("headquarters","Not Found"))

Output

Company Name: Microsoft
Company Location: Seattle      
Company Headquarters: None     
Company Headquarters: Not Found

Example 2 – Difference between get() method and dict[key] to access elements

The get() method will not raise any exception if the key is not found, it either returns None or a default value if provided.

On the other hand when we use dict[key] if the key is not found KeyError exception is raised.

company = {"name": "Microsoft", "location": "Seattle"}

# In case of wrong key name without default value
print("Company Headquarters:", company.get("headquarters"))

# In case of wrong key name with default value
print("Company Headquarters:", company.get("headquarters","Not Found"))

# when used dict[key]
print(company["headquarters"])

Output

Company Headquarters: None
Company Headquarters: Not Found
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Personal\IJS\Python_Samples\program.py", line 9, in <module>
    print(company["headquarters"])
KeyError: 'headquarters'
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