Difference between Python Dictionary copy and = Operator

In this section, we discuss the difference between Python Dictionary copy and = Operator with practical examples. The Python Dictionary copy shallow copy the dictionary items to an entirely new dictionary. Whereas = operator creates an instance of the existing dictionary.

Difference between Python Dictionary copy and = Operator Example 1

In this example, we are showing how we can use these two options to copy the dictionary items to a new Dictionary. As you can see, both Python codes are giving the same result. Please refer to the Python tutorial page to understand other data objects.

# Difference between Python Dictionary copy and = Operator

emp = {'name': 'John', 'age': 25 , 'job': 'HR', 'Sal': 725000}

print("Dictionary: ", emp)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(emp))

newEmp = emp.copy()
print("\nDictionary: ", newEmp)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(newEmp))

newEmp2 = emp
print("\nDictionary: ", newEmp2)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(newEmp2))

Dictionary copy vs = equals operator output

Dictionary:  {'name': 'John', 'age': 25, 'job': 'HR', 'Sal': 725000}
Dictionary Length:  4

Dictionary:  {'name': 'John', 'age': 25, 'job': 'HR', 'Sal': 725000}
Dictionary Length:  4

Dictionary:  {'name': 'John', 'age': 25, 'job': 'HR', 'Sal': 725000}
Dictionary Length:  4

Differentiate Dictionary copy and = Operator Example 2

In this program, we are using the Python dictionary clear function to remove items from the Python dictionary. If you observe carefully, when we removed items from emp, newEmp2 is also returning an empty set.

# Difference between Python Dictionary copy and = Operator

emp = {'name': 'John', 'age': 25 , 'job': 'HR', 'Sal': 725000}

print("Dictionary: ", emp)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(emp))

newEmp = emp.copy()
print("\nDictionary: ", newEmp)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(newEmp))

newEmp2 = emp
print("\nDictionary: ", newEmp2)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(newEmp2))

emp.clear()
print("\nDictionary: ", newEmp)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(newEmp))

print("\nDictionary: ", newEmp2)
print("Dictionary Length: ", len(newEmp2))