In Python you can use formatted strings to output variables easily.
Formatted string literals (f-strings) let you include variables inside a string by prefixing the string with f or F and writing expressions as {expression}.
If you have an f-string, you can use the :10 to make sure it's 10 character wide. This let you create a nice table like this:
If you are new to Python, you should first learn the basics.
Format dictionary as table with f-strings
If you have a newer version of Python (>3.5) you can use f-strings. These let you format strings nicely.
First we define a dictionary, then iterate over it with a for loop and format it with f-strings.
>>> table = { "Alice": 12, "Jim": 15, "Tim": 19 }
>>> for name, id in table.items():
... print(f'{name:10} => {id:10d}')
...
Alice => 12
Jim => 15
Tim => 19
>>>
If you want to add a header, just call the print function before. We removed the decoration, making it easier to read.
d = { "Alice": 128, "Bob": 256, "Tim": 512, "Jim": 1024 }
print(f"Key{' ':14} Value{' ':15}")
for k, v in d.items():
print(f"{k:8}{v:15}")
This returns
Key Value
Alice 128
Bob 256
Tim 512
Jim 1024
Existing functions
You can also use an existing function, like this one I found on the web. Personally I prefer formatting with f-strings, but this may be what you are looking for.
def printTable(myDict, colList=None):
if not colList:
colList = list(myDict[0].keys() if myDict else [])
myList = [colList] # 1st row = header
for item in myDict:
myList.append([str(item[col] or '') for col in colList])
#maximun size of the col for each element
colSize = [max(map(len,col)) for col in zip(*myList)]
#insert seperating line before every line, and extra one for ending.
for i in range(0, len(myList)+1)[::-1]:
myList.insert(i, ['-' * i for i in colSize])
#two format for each content line and each seperating line
formatStr = ' | '.join(["{{:<{}}}".format(i) for i in colSize])
formatSep = '-+-'.join(["{{:<{}}}".format(i) for i in colSize])
for item in myList:
if item[0][0] == '-':
print(formatSep.format(*item))
else:
print(formatStr.format(*item))
d = { "Alice": 128, "Bob": 256, "Tim": 512, "Jim": 1024 }
printTable([d])
This outputs:
------+-----+-----+-----
Alice | Bob | Tim | Jim
------+-----+-----+-----
128 | 256 | 512 | 1024
------+-----+-----+-----
Related links:
Top comments (1)
Thanks for sharing the
:10syntax. I had no idea that existed and will definitely use that!Note: the tabulate package prints various different inputs to various plain text table formats. Definitely worth checking out.