Convert Dictionary to String in Python

1. Use the json Module to Convert a Dictionary to a String and Back in Python
2. Use the str() and the literal_eval() Function From the ast Library to Convert a Dictionary to a String and Back in Python
3. Use pickle Module to Convert a Dictionary to a String and Back in Python

A dictionary in Python is an ordered collection of data values stored in a key: value pair. It can be created by placing elements within curly braces and separating them by a comma. A string in Python is a sequence of Unicode characters. It can be created by enclosing characters in single quotes or double-quotes.

In this tutorial, we will discuss how to convert a dictionary to a string and back in Python.

Use the json Module to Convert a Dictionary to a String and Back in Python

json is an acronym for JavaScript Object Notation. This module produces the output in plain text only. It also supports cross-platform and cross-version.

For example,

import json
dict = {'Hello': 60}
s = json.dumps(dict)
print(s)
d = json.loads(s)
print(d)

Output:

{"Hello": 60}
{'Hello': 60}

The function json.dumps() extracts data from the json object passed as a parameter and returns it in the form of a string. The function json.loads() takes in a string as a parameter and returns a json object.

Use the str() and the literal_eval() Function From the ast Library to Convert a Dictionary to a String and Back in Python

This method can be used if the dictionary’s length is not too big. The str() method of Python is used to convert a dictionary to its string representation. The literal_eval() from ast library is used to convert a string to a dictionary in Python.

For example,

import ast
dict = {'Hello': 60}
str(dict)
ast.literal_eval(str(dict))

Output:

"{'Hello': 60}"
{'Hello': 60}   

Use pickle Module to Convert a Dictionary to a String and Back in Python

The dumps() function from the pickle module is used to convert a dictionary into a byte stream in Python. The loads() function does the opposite i.e. it is used to convert the byte stream back into a dictionary in Python.

For example,

import pickle
dict = {'Hello': 60, 'World': 100}
s = pickle.dumps(dict)
print(s)
d = pickle.loads(s)
print(d)

Output:

b'\x80\x04\x95\x19\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00}\x94(\x8c\x05Hello\x94K<\x8c\x05World\x94Kdu.'
{'Hello': 60, 'World': 100}