How to Remove Quotation Marks from Values in a Python Dictionary

Learn how to effectively read a file and clean up quotation marks from key-value pairs when creating a dictionary in Python.
---

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: reading a file but whenever I get the Key Pair Value...unable to get rid of the quotations

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Removing Quotation Marks from Values in a Python Dictionary

When working with files in Python, especially when you are reading data that you want to convert into a dictionary, you might encounter an issue where the values come surrounded by quotation marks. This is often the case when dealing with string representations in configuration files or specialized formats. In this guide, we will dive into a common problem faced by Python developers: how to remove unwanted quotation marks from dictionary values obtained from file input.

The Problem

Imagine you have a configuration file (like the one below) that contains key-value pairs, and each value is enclosed in either single or double quotes. For instance:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

After reading this file and parsing it into a dictionary in Python, you may notice that instead of just extracting the date, you are getting it with extra quotes, like so:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This can be frustrating, especially if you just want key1 to hold the value 2022-01-01 without the extra quotation marks. Below, we will outline a solution to this problem.

The Solution

Step 1: Read the File

In Python, the first step is reading the file and iterating through its lines. You might already have some basic code for this, like the one below:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This code reads all lines from the file into a list called lines.

Step 2: Parse Each Line

To process each line, we can skip any comments or empty lines:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 3: Strip Comments and Extract Values

Next, create a function to split the line into key and value pairs while removing any comments. Here’s a function you might have:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 4: Clean Up the Quotation Marks

The critical step here is to ensure we strip the quotation marks from the values. After obtaining the value from the result, you can modify it as follows:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Full Implementation

Combining all these steps, your code should look something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By following these steps, you'll be able to read a configuration file and extract clean values for your dictionary without unwanted quotation marks. Remember, the key takeaway is to use the strip method effectively to remove any unnecessary characters from your strings. This approach not only enhances the readability of your code but also ensures that you are working with the values you actually need.

If you have any questions or need further clarification on this topic, feel free to leave a comment below! Happy coding!