# 5.12 `UserDict` -- Class wrapper for dictionary objects

The module defines a mixin, `DictMixin`, defining all dictionary methods for classes that already have a minimum mapping interface. This greatly simplifies writing classes that need to be substitutable for dictionaries (such as the shelve module).

This module also defines a class, `UserDict`, that acts as a wrapper around dictionary objects. The need for this class has been largely supplanted by the ability to subclass directly from `dict` (a feature that became available starting with Python version 2.2). Prior to the introduction of `dict`, the `UserDict` class was used to create dictionary-like sub-classes that obtained new behaviors by overriding existing methods or adding new ones.

The `UserDict` module defines the `UserDict` class and `DictMixin`:

class `UserDict`( | [initialdata])

  Class that simulates a dictionary. The instance's contents are kept in a regular dictionary, which is accessible via the `data` attribute of `UserDict` instances. If initialdata is provided, `data` is initialized with its contents; note that a reference to initialdata will not be kept, allowing it be used for other purposes. Note: For backward compatibility, instances of `UserDict` are not iterable.

class `IterableUserDict`( | [initialdata])

  Subclass of `UserDict` that supports direct iteration (e.g. `for key in myDict`).

In addition to supporting the methods and operations of mappings (see section 3.8), `UserDict` and `IterableUserDict` instances provide the following attribute:

`data`
  A real dictionary used to store the contents of the `UserDict` class.

class `DictMixin`( | )

  Mixin defining all dictionary methods for classes that already have a minimum dictionary interface including `__getitem__()`, `__setitem__()`, `__delitem__()`, and `keys()`.

  This mixin should be used as a superclass. Adding each of the above methods adds progressively more functionality. For instance, defining all but `__delitem__` will preclude only `pop` and `popitem` from the full interface.

  In addition to the four base methods, progressively more efficiency comes with defining `__contains__()`, `__iter__()`, and `iteritems()`.

  Since the mixin has no knowledge of the subclass constructor, it does not define `__init__()` or `copy()`.