Level 3Exercise #57
Count without get
Build a frequency dictionary without dict.get or missing-key checks.
What you’ll practice
This Level 3 exercise focuses on defaultdict(int) in the Collections curriculum. Solve the challenge prompt above using clear, idiomatic Python and the relevant language or standard-library tools.
Relevant Python reference: collections.defaultdict.
Sample Test Cases
Example #1
Input:
counts(['a','b','a'])Output:
{'a':2,'b':1}Further Reading
Reference Solution
Reveal Reference Solution
def counts(values: list[str]) -> dict[str, int]: from collections import defaultdict result = defaultdict(int) for value in values: result[value] += 1 return dict(result)Pro Tips & Keyboard Shortcuts
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