VBA Dictionary to Python dict

VBA Dictionary Example

Dim d As Object
Set d = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")

' Adding items
d.Add "A", 100
d.Add "B", 200

' Checking existence
If d.Exists("A") Then
    Debug.Print d("A") ' Access by key
End If

Python dict Equivalent

# Native dict creation
d = {"A": 100, "B": 200}

# Key assignment
d["C"] = 300

# Checking existence
if "A" in d:
    print(d["A"])  # Value access

Common VBA → Python Mappings

Loop Conversion Example

Dim key As Variant
For Each key In d.Keys
    Debug.Print key, d(key)
Next key

for key, value in d.items():
    print(key, value)

Important Differences

• COM Helper vs Native Type: VBA requires CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary") which adds overhead. Python dicts are built-in and highly optimized C implementations.
• Insertion Order: In Python 3.7+, dictionaries are guaranteed to maintain insertion order. VBA Dictionaries also maintain order, but this is a happy accident of implementation rather than a strict guarantee in all versions.
• Error Handling: Accessing a missing key in VBA (val = d("missing")) might inadvertently add it (if empty) or return Empty. In Python, d["missing"] raises a KeyError unless you use d.get("missing").