Question

Suppose a dictionary named inventory exists. What does the following statement do? del inventory[654]

Short answer

Answer: The statement `del inventory[654]` removes the key-value pair with the key `654` from the `inventory` dictionary, if it exists. If the key `654` is not present in the dictionary, it will raise a KeyError, indicating that the specified key does not exist in the dictionary.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding a Dictionary

A dictionary in Python is a collection of key-value pairs, where each key is associated with a value. It is an unordered and mutable collection, meaning that the order of elements in a dictionary is not fixed, and it can be changed. Dictionaries are enclosed in curly brackets ({}), and elements are separated by commas. Here is an example of a dictionary: inventory = { 'apples': 5, 'oranges': 10, 'bananas': 3 } In this dictionary, the keys are 'apples', 'oranges', and 'bananas', and their respective values are 5, 10, and 3.

Using the `del` Statement

In Python, the `del` statement is used to remove an item from a dictionary. The general syntax for the `del` statement is as follows: del dictionary_name[key] To remove an item from a dictionary, you need to specify the key of the item you want to remove within the square brackets. The `del` statement will then remove the associated key-value pair from the dictionary.

Effect of the Given Statement

The given statement is: del inventory[654] This statement will remove the key-value pair with the key `654` from the `inventory` dictionary, if it exists. If the key `654` is not present in the dictionary, it will raise a KeyError, indicating that the specified key does not exist in the dictionary.