parsing - How do I parse a text file in dictionary form and put it into a dictionary in python? -

i want take text file contains of form:

{('q0','a'):('q0','a','r'), ('q0','b'):('q0','a','r'), ('q1',' '):('q1',' ','l')} 

and place real dictionary. i've been hacking away @ hours , have gotten far. think solution simple have found nothing useful on internet. appreciated.

if file contains valid python code describing dictionary, use eval:

>>> value = "{('q0','a'):('q0','a','r'),('q0','b'):('q0','a','r'),('q1',' '):('q1',' ','l')}" >>> value "{('q0','a'):('q0','a','r'),('q0','b'):('q0','a','r'),('q1',' '):('q1',' ','l')}" >>> d = eval(value) >>> type(d) <type 'dict'> >>> d {('q1', ' '): ('q1', ' ', 'l'), ('q0', 'a'): ('q0', 'a', 'r'), ('q0', 'b'): ('q0', 'a', 'r')} 

however, wouldn't recommend method of passing information around (between python programs, say). use pickle, or perhaps json serialization, depending on exact needs.