python - Tuple value by key

Question

Is it possible to get Value out of tuple:

TUPLE = (
    ('P', 'Shtg1'),
    ('R', u'Shtg2'),
    ('D', 'Shtg3'),
)

by calling STR key like P

Python says that only int can be used for this type of 'query'

I can't use loop (too much overhead...)

Thank you!

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8731231/tuple-value-by-key

Answer 1

The canonical data structure for this type of queries is a dictionary:

In [1]: t = (
   ...:     ('P', 'Shtg1'),
   ...:     ('R', u'Shtg2'),
   ...:     ('D', 'Shtg3'),
   ...: )

In [2]: d = dict(t)

In [3]: d['P']
Out[3]: 'Shtg1'

If you use a tuple, there is no way to avoid looping (either explicit or implicit).