The keys() method is used to return a view object displaying a list of all the keys in the dictionary.
This method is particularly useful when you need to access or iterate over the keys of a dictionary.
Syntax
dictionary.keys()
Parameters
This method doesn’t take any parameters.
Return value
It returns a view object that displays the list of all the keys.
Visual Representation
Example 1: How to Use keys() method
dict = {
'shopping': 'flipkart',
'transport': 'ola',
'banking': 'paytm',
'hotel': 'oyo rooms'
}
dictKeys = dict.keys()
print(dictKeys)
Output
dict_keys(['shopping', 'transport', 'banking', 'hotel'])
Example 2: Emptying the dictionary
dict = {
'shopping': 'flipkart',
'transport': 'ola',
'banking': 'paytm',
'hotel': 'oyo rooms'
}
dictKeys = dict.keys()
print("Before Emptying the dictionary: ",dictKeys)
dict = {}
dictKeys = dict.keys()
print("After Emptying the dictionary: ",dictKeys)
Output
Before Emptying the dictionary: dict_keys(['shopping', 'transport', 'banking', 'hotel'])
After Emptying the dictionary: dict_keys([])
In this example, it is shown that when the dictionary is emptied, its set of keys becomes empty as well.
Example 3: Updating in the dictionary updates the view object
data = {'name': 'David', 'age': 30}
dictKeys = data.keys()
print('Before dictionary update:', dictKeys)
# adds an element to the dictionary
data.update({'country': 'USA'})
# prints the updated view object
print('After dictionary update:', dictKeys)
Output
Before dictionary update: dict_keys(['name', 'age'])
After dictionary update: dict_keys(['name', 'age', 'country'])
In this example, we update the data dictionary by adding a new element. The keys() method extracts the keys from the dictionary, resulting in a view object dictKeys. When the dictionary is updated with a new element, the dictKeys view also gets updated, reflecting the changes in the dictionary.
Example 4: Accessing key using keys() indexing
data = {'name': 'David', 'age': 30}
print('2nd key using keys() :', list(data.keys())[1])
Output
2nd key using keys() : age
That’s it.