Python pprint Exercise - Specify the width of the output while printing a list, dictionary

Last update on April 24 2025 12:38:42 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

3. Pprint with Custom Width

Write a Python program that specifies the width of the output while printing a list, dictionary using the pprint module.

"width" (default 80) specifies the desired maximum number of characters per line in the output. If a structure cannot be formatted within the width constraint, a best effort will be made.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

import pprint
colors = ["Red", "Green", "Blue", "White", "Pink"]
print("List with specific width:")
pp = pprint.PrettyPrinter(width=20)
pp.pprint(colors)
print("\nDictionary with specific width:")
nested_dict = {
    'd1': {
        'a': 2,
        'c': 1,
        'b': 3
    },
    'd2': {
        'f': 3,
        'e': 4,
        'd': 6
    },
    'd3': {
        'g': 17,
        'h': 18,
        'i': 9
    }
}
pp.pprint(nested_dict)

Sample Output:

List with specific width:
['Red',
 'Green',
 'Blue',
 'White',
 'Pink']

Dictionary with specific width:
{'d1': {'a': 2,
        'b': 3,
        'c': 1},
 'd2': {'d': 6,
        'e': 4,
        'f': 3},
 'd3': {'g': 17,
        'h': 18,
        'i': 9}}

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a Python program that prints a long list and a nested dictionary using pprint, setting the width parameter to 50, and observe how the output format changes.
Write a Python function that accepts any data structure and pretty-prints it with a user-specified width, then test it with different width values.
Write a Python script to generate a dictionary with very long string values and use pprint to print the dictionary with a custom width that forces line breaks.
Write a Python program to compare the output of pprint with different width settings for the same nested structure and document the differences.

Go to:

Previous: Sort the keys of a dictionary before printing it using the pprint module.
Next: Specify the indentation while printing a nested dictionary.

Python Code Editor:

Have another way to solve this solution? Contribute your code (and comments) through Disqus.