How can I merge two dictionaries without using the update() method?

One simple way to merge two dictionaries without using update() is by using the unpacking (**) syntax.

For example:

A = {12: 'Kathmandu', 11: 'London', 3: 'Sydney'}
B = {10: 'New York', 2: 'Delhi'}

AB = {**A, **B}
print(AB)

Output

{12: 'Kathmandu', 11: 'London', 3: 'Sydney', 10: 'New York', 2: 'Delhi'}

Here,

• The {**A, **B} syntax unpacks the key-value pairs from both dictionaries A and B and combines them into a new dictionary, AB.

• This method will include all keys and values from both dictionaries.

Note: If there are overlapping keys, the value from the second dictionary (B) will overwrite the value from the first dictionary (A). For example,

A = {1: 'apple', 2: 'banana'}
B = {2: 'orange', 3: 'grape'}

AB = {**A, **B}
print(AB)

Output

{1: 'apple', 2: 'orange', 3: 'grape'}

Notice that key 2 has the value 'orange' from dictionary B, overwriting 'banana' from dictionary A.

In conclusion, the ** syntax is a very clean and Pythonic way to merge dictionaries, especially when you want to avoid using update().