Values in python dictionary getting converted to double quotes rather than single quotes

Question

I have a dictionary with the below values :-

test_dict = {'a': ['a1', 'a2'], 'b': ['1.1.1.1:1111', '2.2.2.2:2222', '3.3.3.3:3333,4.4.4.4:4444', '5.5.5.5:5555']}

I need to replace the comma (,) between 3.3.3.3:3333 and 4.4.4.4:4444 with (',) which is (single quote comma space) like that of the others.

I tried the code below but the output is coming with double quotes (")

val = ','
valnew = '\', \''  # using escape characters - all are single quotes
for k, v in test_dict.items():
    for i, s in enumerate(v):
        if val in s:
           v[i] = s.replace(val, valnew)

print(test_dict)

Output:

{'a': ['a1', 'a2'], 'b': ['1.1.1.1:1111', '2.2.2.2:2222', "3.3.3.3:3333', '4.4.4.4:4444", '5.5.5.5:5555']}

Expected Output:

{'a': ['a1', 'a2'], 'b': ['1.1.1.1:1111', '2.2.2.2:2222', '3.3.3.3:3333', '4.4.4.4:4444', '5.5.5.5:5555']}

Please suggest.

Answer 1

print is displaying a representation of the dict, as if print(repr(test_dict)) was called.

[repr returns] a string containing a printable representation of an object. For many types, this function makes an attempt to return a string that would yield an object with the same value when passed to eval() ..

Since the value is a string which contains a ' it is using a " instead during the representation of the string. Example:

print(repr("helloworld"))   # -> 'helloworld'
print(repr("hello'world"))  # -> "hello'world"

This representation should generally only be used for diagnostic purposes. If needing to write this special format, the dict has to be walked and the values printed explicitly "per requirements".

If wishing for a reliable output/encoding with well-defined serialization rules, use a common format like JSON, XML, YAML, etc..

Answer 2

You're confusing data with representation. The single quotes, space, and comma ', ' are part of the representation of strings inside a list, not the string itself.

What you're actually trying to do is split a string on a comma, e.g.

>>> '3,4'.split(',')
['3', '4']

You can do this within a list by splitting and flattening, like this:

[s1 for s0 in v for s1 in s0.split(',')]

So:

>>> b = ['1', '2', '3,4', '5']  # Using simpler data for example
>>> b = [s1 for s0 in b for s1 in s0.split(',')]
>>> print(b)
['1', '2', '3', '4', '5']

Answer 3

'3.3.3.3:3333,4.4.4.4:4444' is a single string and the outer quote marks are just python's way of showing that. The same thing for "3.3.3.3:3333', '4.4.4.4:4444" - it is a single string. The outer double quotes are just python's way of showing you the string. The internal single quotes and comma are literally those characters in the string.

Your problem seems to be that some values in the list have been merged. Likely the problem is whatever wrote the list in the first place. We can fix it by splitting the strings and extending the list. List items that don't have embedded commas split to a single item list so extend into our new list as a single item. No change. But items with a comma split into a 2 item list and extend the new list by 2.

test_dict = {'a': ['a1', 'a2'], 'b': ['1.1.1.1:1111', '2.2.2.2:2222', '3.3.3.3:3333,4.4.4.4:4444', '5.5.5.5:5555']}

def list_expander(alist):
    """Return list where values with a comma are expanded"""
    new_list = []
    for value in alist:
        new_list.extend(value.split(","))
    return new_list

new_dict = {key:list_expander(val) for key, val in test_dict.items()}
print(new_dict)

The result is

{'a': ['a1', 'a2'], 'b': ['1.1.1.1:1111', '2.2.2.2:2222', '3.3.3.3:3333', '4.4.4.4:4444', '5.5.5.5:5555']}

Answer 4

Try something like this:

test_dict["b"] = ",".join(test_dict["b"]).split(",")

Updated:

import re

# do this once for the entire list
do_joinsplit_regex = re.compile(
    r"\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\:\d{1,4}"
)

for d in sample_list:
    for k,v in d.items():
        if not isinstance(v, list) or len(v) < 1:
            continue
        d[k] = ",".join(v).split(",")