Convert a list to a dictionary in Python

Question

Let\'s say I have a list a in Python whose entries conveniently map to a dictionary. Each even element represents the key to the dictionary, and the following o

Answer 1

You can do it pretty fast without creating extra arrays, so this will work even for very large arrays:

dict(izip(*([iter(a)]*2)))

If you have a generator a, even better:

dict(izip(*([a]*2)))

Here's the rundown:

iter(h)    #create an iterator from the array, no copies here
[]*2       #creates an array with two copies of the same iterator, the trick
izip(*())  #consumes the two iterators creating a tuple
dict()     #puts the tuples into key,value of the dictionary