Records as Dictionaries
Name the columns, and the code stops depending on their order.
A row that says what it holds
Once each row is a dictionary, position stops mattering. row["score"] survives someone inserting a column; row[1] does not.
rows = [
{"name": "Ada", "score": 92},
{"name": "Grace", "score": 88},
]
for row in rows:
print(row["name"], row["score"])Missing keys, and .get
Real data has gaps. row["score"] on a row without one raises KeyError; row.get("score") hands back None instead, which is a decision you should make on purpose rather than by accident.
row = {"name": "Alan"}
print(row.get("score"))
print(row.get("score", 0))Exercise
Try It YourselfEach row is a dictionary. Print the name of every student whose score is at least 85, one per line.
Press Run to see output