How to create a dictionary with time values as keys (m:ss) in Python

Question

what is the format for creating a dictionary that stores time values (minutes and seconds)? for example I want to create a dictionary the holds a runners sprint time: mySprints = {"first":4:30,"second":3:13,"third":5:36} and so on. In what format is the time entered in the dictionary? Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

I'm sure there are many methods, but one option would be to input the time as a string:

your_dict = {"first": "4:30","second": "3:13"}

Or you could use the time class within the datetime module:

example = datetime.time(0,4,30) # this would be 0 hours, 4 minutes and 30 seconds

your_dict = {"first": datetime.time(0,4,30),"second": datetime.time(0,3,13)} # etc...

You could also then create a lambda function to initiate the time a bit easier so you wouldn't have to write datetime.time(0, minutes, seconds) in the dictionary each time, for example:

time_obj = lambda m, s: datetime.time(0,m,s)

your_dict['third'] = time_obj(5, 36)

print(your_dict['third']) # this would return: 00:05:36

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To answer your question in the comment, you can add timedelta objects together, for example:

x = datetime.timedelta(minutes=2, seconds=20) # notice the .timedelta this time
y = datetime.timedelta(minutes=1, seconds=10)

print(x+y) # returns: 0:03:30

To sort, you can sort a list of timedelta objects using python sorted() function, for example:

x = datetime.timedelta(minutes=2, seconds=20)
y = datetime.timedelta(minutes=1, seconds=10)
z = datetime.timedelta(minutes=0, seconds=50)

times = [x, y, z]

print(times)
# returns: [datetime.timedelta(0, 140), datetime.timedelta(0, 70), datetime.timedelta(0, 50)]

print(sorted(times))
# returns: [datetime.timedelta(0, 50), datetime.timedelta(0, 70), datetime.timedelta(0, 140)]

To sort it within a dictionary, I would suggest having a look at this stackoverflow question.