Question

I have the key of a python dictionary and I want to get the corresponding index in the dictionary. Suppose I have the following dictionary,

d = { 'a': 10, 'b': 20, 'c': 30}

Is there a combination of python functions so that I can get the index value of 1, given the key value ‘b’?

d.??('b') 

I know it can be achieved with a loop or lambda (with a loop embedded). Just thought there should be a more straightforward way.

Answer 1

Use OrderedDicts: http://docs.python.org/2/library/collections.html#collections.OrderedDict

>>> x = OrderedDict((("a", "1"), ("c", '3'), ("b", "2")))
>>> x["d"] = 4
>>> x.keys().index("d")
3
>>> x.keys().index("c")
1

For those using Python 3

>>> list(x.keys()).index("c")
1