Convert Dictionary to String, vice versa?

[Byron]

Hi Kjetil,

Thank you for telling me about pickle (along with the sample of code.) 
It works great...  Much appreciated!

Byron
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Kjetil Torgrim Homme wrote:
> [Byron]:
> 
>>  I am a newbie and would like to know if it is possible to convert
>>  a string back to a dictionary?
>>  
>>  For example, I can convert a dictionary to a string by doing this:
>>  
>>  	>>> names = {"Candy" : 2.95, "Popcorn" : 4.95}
>>  	>>> strNames = str(names)
>>  	>>> print strNames
>>  	{'Popcorn': 4.9500000000000002, 'Candy': 2.9500000000000002}
>>  
>>  However,  is there a way to convert a string back to a dictionary?
>>  
>>  Any help is very much appreciated!
> 
> 
> I'm surprised no one has mentioned pickle.
> 
> 
>>>>import pickle
>>>>names = {"Candy" : 2.95, "Popcorn" : 4.95}
>>>>pickle.dumps(names)
> 
> "(dp0\nS'Popcorn'\np1\nF4.9500000000000002\nsS'Candy'\np2\nF2.9500000000000002\ns."
> 
>>>>pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(names))
> 
> {'Popcorn': 4.9500000000000002, 'Candy': 2.9500000000000002}
> 
>